Venus Williams obtains the wild card for the 2026 Australian Open at the age of 45, five years after her last appearance

Seven-time Grand Slam singles champion Venus Williams will return to the Australian Open in Melbourne for the first time in five years. And at 45, the tournament said she will become the oldest woman to compete in an Australian Open main draw.

Tournament officials said Friday that Williams received a wild-card entry into the 2026 tournament at Melbourne Park, 28 years after her first appearance. In 1998, the 17-year-old defeated her younger sister Serena Williams in the second round before losing in the quarterfinals to fellow American Lindsay Davenport.

“I’m excited to be back in Australia and looking forward to competing during the Australian summer,” Williams said. “I’ve had so many incredible memories there and I’m grateful for the opportunity to return to a place that has meant so much to my career.”

Venus Williams did an incredible return to sport in July 2025 when she accepted a wild card invitation to play singles at the 2025 Mubadala Citi DC Open. She became the second-oldest woman to win a singles match at the tour level after beating Peyton Sterns, 22 years her junior, 6-3, 6-4. It was Williams’ first individual victory in almost two years.

Williams then made an electric run at the 2025 US Open when she partnered Leylah Fernandez in the women’s doubles tournament. They reached the quarterfinals, where they lost to Taylor Townsend and Kateřina Siniaková.

In November, Williams announced that she would play in Auckland, New Zealand, where she also received a wild card, two weeks before the Australian Open. The Australian Open said Williams was also entered to play a tournament in Hobart, Australia, a week later and just before play begins at Melbourne Park.

She last appeared in Melbourne in 2021 and finished runner-up in women’s singles twice, losing to Serena in the 2003 and 2017 finals.

Williams’ record at Melbourne Park is 54 wins and 21 losses. This year will be the 22nd time he appears in the main draw.

The current record for the oldest woman to compete in an Australian Open main draw is held by Japan’s Kimiko Date, who was 44 when she lost in the first round at Melbourne Park in 2015.

In late December, Williams married Danish model and actress Andrea Preti in Palm Beach, Florida.