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MELBOURNE. — Venus Williams has been awarded a wildcard to compete in January’s Australian Open tennis tournament at the age of 42.
The American will be back in Melbourne 25 years after her debut in the tournament, which begins on January 16.
A seven-time Grand Slam champion in singles, Williams reached the Australian Open final in 2003 and 2017 and has won five doubles titles there.
“I am very excited to be returning to Melbourne. It will be an honour to play for the fans again,” she said.
“I’ve been competing in the country for over 20 years now and the Australian community has always supported me wholeheartedly. “I’m looking forward to making more memories at the tournament this year.” Williams is ranked 1 007th in the world and her last competitive singles match was a first-round defeat at the US Open in August, having played just four tournaments in 2022.
The Grand Slam in New York was the last for Williams’ sister Serena, who announced she was “evolving away” from tennis before the tournament.
Nine-time champion Novak Djokovic is also set to compete in Melbourne — a year after being deported from Australia because of his Covid-19 vaccination status.
Meanwhile, world No. 1 Carlos Alcaraz is confident he will be ready to compete at his best level at next month’s Australian Open, despite an abdominal injury that shortened his preseason training block.
The 19-year-old Spaniard recovered from a muscle tear in his left abdomen that ruled him out of the ATP Finals and Davis Cup Finals at the end of his last campaign and only started practising fully a week ago.
Two defeats to Andrey Rublev and Casper Ruud at the Mubadala World Tennis Championship in Abu Dhabi this weekend helped Alcaraz dip his toes back into action and he believes he has enough time to train and find his game before the first Grand Slam of 2023 comes along on January 16.
“I would say the key is to practise a lot, spend a lot of hours on court. With that, you’re going to reach your best level and be ready for the season,” the reigning US Open champion told reporters in the UAE capital.
“I have one month before the Australian Open, so I have time to keep training, trying to reach my level and I would say I will be ready and 100 percent heading into Australia.”
The Spanish teenager, who is the youngest world No. 1 in ATP history, will not contest any official tournaments prior to the Australian Open, but will participate in an exhibition at the Kooyong Lawn Tennis Club in Melbourne between 10 and 12 January. Alcaraz is aware 2023 will come with new experiences for him now that he is a Grand Slam winner and is at the summit of the rankings.
“I have to be prepared for that, the pressure. The people, the players as well, are going to have all their eyes on me and I’m going to have to be prepared for that,” he explained. — BBC Sport
Online Reporter