Five-time Wimbledon singles champion Venus Williams will make her 24th appearance at Wimbledon after recieveing a wild card entry to the the prestigious grass tournament in London.
Williams, who turned 43 years old on June 17, was the ladies' singles runner-up at Wimbledon in 2017. That was two decades after her debut at the All England Club. She has won seven Grand Slam singles titles, including back-to-back US Open wins in 2000 and 2001.
Her wins at Wimbledon came in 2000, 2001, 2005, 2007 and 2008. She played mixed doubles at Wimbledon last year, but this will be her first time playing in the singles event since 2021.
Venus is currently ranked No. 697 on the WTA tour and competing at the Birmingham Classic in the United Kingdom. On Monday, she took down No. 48-ranked Camila Giorgi 7-6 (5), 4-6, 7-6 (6), which earned Williams a ticket to the Round of 16 where she will play Jeļena Ostapenko on Thursday.
Her win over Giorgi also helped Venus snap a 12-match losing streak, and it was her first victory over a top 50 opponent in almost four years. This wil help her climb the WTA rankings significantly next week.
Former World No. 3 Elina Svitolina was also one of the players given a wild card entry for this year's Wimbledon. She was a semifinalist in 2019. Svitolina took a maternity break after giving birth last October, but the 28-year-old has had a decent year so far as she reached the French Open quarterfinals earlier this month.
The 2023 Wimbledon Championships are set to start July 3 and end on July 16.
