Venus Williams gets wild card to play singles at Wimbledon

Venus Williams is expected to make her 24th appearance in the Wimbledon singles draw after the 43-year-old American received a wildcard entry on Wednesday.

Williams is a five-time Wimbledon singles champion and was a finalist in the 2017 Major on grass, two decades after her debut with the All England Club.

Williams, who is ranked 697th, defeated 48th-ranked Camila Giorgi 7-6 (5), 4-6, 7-6 (6) at the Birmingham Classic on Monday. It was her first win over a player in the top 50 in nearly four years, ending a 12-game losing streak.

Next, the seven-time Grand Slam winner meets Jelena Ostapenko in the Wimbledon warm-up.

Williams’ younger sister Serena is a seven-time Wimbledon champion. At last year’s tournament, she lost in the first round and shortly thereafter announced her decision to retire from tennis.

Ukrainian player Elina Svitolina and British players Heather Watson and Katie Boulter also received wild cards for the women’s draw. Svitolina reached the quarter-finals of the French Open after a maternity leave before suffering defeat to Czech teenager Linda Fruhvirtova on her return to the pitch in Birmingham earlier this week.

David Goffin, a Belgian who reached the Wimbledon quarter-finals in 2019 and 2022, was among the men who received wildcards. Four wildcards, two each for men and women, have yet to be announced.

Wimbledon starts on July 3rd.

The Associated Press and Reuters contributed to this report.