By Richard Pagliaro | Thursday, January 1, 2026Photo credit: Coleve/Mark Peterson
Venus Williams is making a record-setting return to Oz.
Former world No. 1 Venus Williams has accepted a wild card to play this month’s Australian Open.
The 45-year-old superstar will play the Australian Open for the first time since 2021. Venus Williams, who launched her comeback to tournament tennis in Washington, DC last July, will play outside of the United States for the first time since 2023.
It will be a record-setting appearance Down Under: Venus will become the oldest woman to play the AO main draw, breaking the record set by Kimiko Date, who was 44 years old when she played the Melbourne major in 2015.
Overall, Venus owns a 54-21 record at the Australian Open, including finals appearances in 2003 and 2017. She lost both of those finals to younger sister Serena Williams.
The Australian Open main draw is set for January 18-February 1.
The wild card comes after Venus wed partner, 37-year-old Italian actor and model Andrea Preti, last month in Palm Beach, Florida.
A radiant Venus looked gorgeous clad in a white wedding gown.
The Florida wedding follows an earlier ceremony on September 18th in Ischia, Italy.
“We all love each other so much,” Venus told Vogue Magazine. “It was just the happiest, most beautiful, sweetest day.”
