Venus Williams’ next tournament may have just been confirmed after a big hint was dropped.
Williams is still playing tennis at 45 years old, having made her debut on the WTA Tour in 1994.
The former world number one played her latest match at the Australian Open, with Williams losing in the first round to Olga Danilovic, despite having a 4-0 lead in the deciding set.
Williams plays a much lighter schedule at this stage of her career, but a big hint has now been given that she could return to the match court sooner than many thought.
Venus Williams’ next tournament could be sooner than many thought
Last year, Williams revealed that she plans to compete mostly at home in the USA, and there are numerous tournaments coming up in the States on the WTA calendar.
Many assumed that this would begin at the sunshine double of Indian Wells and the Miami Open, but it appears that Williams will play even before then.
The first American tournament of the year is at the ATX Open, which is a WTA 250 level event in Austin, Texas.
With less than three weeks to go until the tournament gets underway, the ATX Open Instagram page gave a big hint that Williams would be competing in the event for the first time.
They wrote, “Austin… this is a BIG one. An all-time tennis great and 7-time Grand Slam champion will play the ATX Open later this month. Who could it be? Announcement tomorrow.”
This Instagram post was flooded with comments from tennis fans who all showcased their excitement about Williams playing, as she is the only active WTA player who has won seven major singles titles.
Who else is playing at the ATX Open?
With Williams set to be confirmed for her debut at the ATX Open, she will join a host of other big names on the WTA Tour.
This includes defending champion and top seed Jessica Pegula, who reached the Australian Open semifinals for the first time last week.
Pegula will be joined by Australian Open quarterfinalist Iva Jovic, last year’s runner-up McCartney Kessler and the in-form Xinyu Wang.
The other seeded players in the singles draw are Peyton Stearns, Ashlyn Krueger, Eva Lys and Solana Sierra.
All of these players are expected to be joined by Williams when the ATX Open gets underway on Monday, February 23.
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