Venus Williams will continue to be absent from tournaments on Tour with her last match taking place nearly a year ago.
American tennis legend Venus Williams has officially denied rumors of a return to competition in the near future, despite her name appearing on the list to attend Indian Wells next month.
Williams, who has won seven Grand Slam singles titles in her career, has been absent from tournaments on Tour for nearly a year since losing in the first round of the Miami Open to Diana Shnaider in March 2024. Nearly a week ago, the news that she had been given a wildcard to Indian Wells led many fans to believe that the former world No. 1 was about to return.
However, in a conversation on the Tennis Weekly Podcast, the 44-year-old confirmed that she had not accepted any invitation and said the information was “inaccurate”. However, Williams revealed that she is still actively training to prepare for a possible return in the near future.
“I’ll be overseas. I won’t be in the States during Indian Wells. So I’ll be watching it on TV. I’m sorry. You heard it here. I just got a text from a colleague today, like, ‘Can you play doubles with me?’ I’m not going,” Williams said.
Indian Wells CEO and former German world number two Tommy Haas has confirmed that Venus Williams will not be playing in the prestigious tournament and that her wildcard spot will be given to another player.
Venus Williams played in Indian Wells last year but lost to Nao Hibino in her opening match. The Williams sisters boycotted the tournament for 15 years after being subjected to racial abuse in the 2001 final, where Serena beat Kim Clijsters. Serena did not return to Indian Wells until 2015, while Venus returned to the tournament a year later.
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