Venus Williams hints at US Open return as star signs up for another tournament

Venus Williams kept her cards close to her chest when she returned to competition at this week's WTA 500 event in Washington. The former world No. 1 won her opening matches in singles and doubles after spending 16 months away from the tennis tour, but refused to give away her plans for the future.

But Washington was only the start of an exciting comeback for the 45-year-old, as she has now received a wildcard into the upcoming Cincinnati Open and looks set to return to her home Grand Slam tournament, the US Open, next month.

Organisers of the joint ATP and WTA 1000 event in Cincinnati, which kicks off on August 7, have confirmed that Williams will compete in the main draw this year.

On Wednesday, the tournament unveiled some early wildcard recipients on social media - Williams and American star Caty McNally. "A legend and a local are heading to Cincy!" they wrote.

Williams is still in action in Washington, where she teamed up with Hailey Baptiste in doubles to make a winning return on Monday.

The seven-time Major winner also beat world No. 35 Peyton Stearns in her opening singles match, becoming the oldest woman to win a WTA Tour main draw match since 2004.

Williams and Baptiste's doubles run ended in the second round on Wednesday, but the 45-year-old will be back on the singles court to face No. 5 seed Magdalena Frech on Thursday.

After beating Stearns to seal her first singles victory since August 2023, Williams said: "It's the first step, and the first match is always extremely difficult. It's hard to describe how difficult it is to play a first match after so much time off.

"So going into the match, I know I have the ability to win, but it's all about actually winning. So this is the best result, to play a good match and win. I'm here with my friends, family, people I love, and the fans, too, who I love and they love me, so this has been just a beautiful night."

Going into this week's Mubadala Citi DC Open in Washington, Williams remained tight-lipped about her future.

"I'm just here for now, and who knows? Maybe there's more. Like I said, I hold my cards close, but at the moment, I'm focused just on this," she explained.

But there will definitely be more on the horizon for the 45-year-old. As well as the upcoming WTA 1000 in Cincinnati, Williams has entered the new US Open two-day mixed doubles event with Reilly Opelka.

All signs point towards a main draw return for Williams in Flushing Meadows. The former No. 1 has not played the US Open since 2023 but if the two-time former champion wants a singles wildcard, she'll be a lock.

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