(Wimbledon) Venus Williams will compete in the Wimbledon Women’s Singles tier for a 24e times since the 43-year-old American received a free pass from the organizers on Wednesday.
A five-time Wimbledon singles champion, she was also a runner-up at the grass-court major in 2017, two decades after her debut at the All England Club.
Currently ranked 697e in the world, Williams surprised Camila Giorgi, 48e, in three sets in the first round of the Birmingham Classic earlier this week. It was her first win in nearly four years against a player in the top-50 in the world.
The holder of seven Grand Slam singles titles will face Jelena Ostapenko in the next round of the Wimbledon preparatory tournament.
Williams’ younger sister Serena has seven Wimbledon singles titles to her credit. Serena Williams lost in the first round last year and announced shortly after her elimination that she was taking time for herself away from tennis.
Ukraine’s Elina Svitolina and Britain’s Heather Watson and Katie Boulter have also received invitations to the women’s main draw. Belgian David Goffin, who reached the quarter-finals at Wimbledon in 2019 and 2022, is one of the players who received an invitation to the men’s side.
The Wimbledon tournament will start on July 3.
