(Wimbledon) Venus Williams will take part in the Wimbledon women’s singles tie for the 24th time as the 43-year-old American received a bye from organizers on Wednesday.
A five-time Wimbledon singles champion, she was also a runner-up at the grass-court major in 2017, two decades after her debut at the All England Club.
Currently ranked 697th in the world, Williams upset 48th-ranked Camila Giorgi in three sets in the first round of the Birmingham Classic earlier this week. It was her first win in nearly four years against a player in the top-50 in the world.
The holder of seven Grand Slam singles titles will face Jelena Ostapenko in the next round of the Wimbledon preparatory tournament.
Williams’ younger sister Serena has seven Wimbledon singles titles to her credit. Serena Williams lost in the first round last year and announced shortly after her elimination that she was taking time for herself away from tennis.
Ukrainian Elina Svitolina and Britain’s Heather Watson and Katie Boulter have also received invitations to the women’s main draw. Belgian David Goffin, who reached the quarter-finals at Wimbledon in 2019 and 2022, is one of the players who received an invitation to the men’s side.
The Wimbledon tournament will start on July 3.
