Venus Williams has given a wild card main draw entry into the Cincinnati Open, according to the tournament officials on Wednesday. She recently became the oldest player to win a WTA singles match since 2004, when she defeated world no. 35 Peyton Stearns at the Washington Open on Tuesday. The win came after a 16-month absence from the game.
Williams will be facing Magdalena Frech in the next round. The main draw of the Cincinnati Open begins on August 7.
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Recently, she opened up on her return to tennis. Speaking after her win vs Stearns, she said, “I had to come back for the insurance.”
“They informed me this year that I'm on COBRA, so it's like, I got to get my benefits on.”
She also revealed, “My fiance is here and he really encouraged me to keep playing.”
“There were so many times where I just wanted to coast and kind of chill. Do you know how hard it is to play tennis? You guys don’t know how much work goes into this, like it’s 9 to 5 except you’re running the whole time. Lifting weights and just like dying and then you repeat it the next day. So he encouraged me to get through this and it’s wonderful to be here. He’s never seen me play,” she added.
{{/usCountry}}“There were so many times where I just wanted to coast and kind of chill. Do you know how hard it is to play tennis? You guys don’t know how much work goes into this, like it’s 9 to 5 except you’re running the whole time. Lifting weights and just like dying and then you repeat it the next day. So he encouraged me to get through this and it’s wonderful to be here. He’s never seen me play,” she added.
{{/usCountry}}Venus, currently 45-years-old, has been ranked as the world no. 1 for 11 weeks and is also a former world no. 1 in women’s doubles for eight weeks. She has won 49 Major Tour-level singles titles, including seven Grand Slam titles. Her Grand Slam titles include five at Wimbledon and two US Open trophies. SHe also has a gold medal from the 2000 Sydney Olympics.