MELBOURNE, Jan 17 (Reuters) - Seven-times Grand Slam champion Venus Williams thanked Australian Open organisers on Saturday for giving her a wildcard that will see the 45-year-old American become the oldest woman ever to compete in the singles main draw.
Williams returned to tennis last season after a 16-month break, winning one of her four tour-level matches before starting 2026 with a first-round defeat by 53rd-ranked Pole Magda Linette as a wildcard at the Auckland Classic last week.
Granted another wildcard for the Hobart International, world number 576 Williams was also eliminated in the first round against 38-year-old German Tatjana Maria, a match featuring players with the highest combined age in WTA history.
"It's been five years since I have been here. They flew by, and I'm super, super grateful for the opportunity from Tennis Australia," Williams told reporters at Melbourne Park on Saturday.
"Grateful for the opportunity to play in front of the fans. I have just received so much support in the tournaments leading up, walking around the city and everything. My hope is to play my best."
The allocation of discretionary wildcards has stokeddebate at the Australian Open, with home player Nick Kyrgios in the spotlight before his decision to pull out of the men's singles.
Though a huge drawcard at his home Grand Slam, Kyrgios played only four completed singles matches last season and is ranked outside the top 600.
Organisers subsequently gave 40-year-old former champion Stan Wawrinka a wildcard for the men's singles.
Some fans have questioned whether Williams, who last won a Grand Slam match in 2021, deserves a wildcard ahead of an up-and-coming player but former Grand Slam champions Andy Roddick and Kim Clijsters strongly backed the American's participation.
Twice a finalist at Melbourne Park, Williams will surpass the record held by Japan’s Kimiko Date who was 44 when she lost in the first round of the 2015 Australian Open.
"I hadn't thought about it till it came out in the press, so yay. Yay for me," said Williams.
She said she had been training non-stop for three months ahead of the Grand Slam while preparing for her December wedding to Italian Andrea Preti.
“There were periods where I was super busy so I'd have to take a week off here or three days off there, but for the most part I was training and trying to get myself back in the groove,” said Williams, who faces 24-year-old Serbian and world number 68 Olga Danilovic in the first round.
“At this point, I need to be kind to myself, because I'm getting so many things right, but, you know, there had been a lack of playing matches.
“I'm playing well. I'm setting myself up each point to win points and controlling the points. That's exactly how I'd want to play, and I'm playing the tennis I need to play.”
(Reporting by Ian Ransom in Melbourne; Editing by Peter Rutherford)
