Venus Williams has been granted a second wild card for this year’s summer hard court swing. The 45-year-old American marked her tennis comeback after 16 months of inactivity with two wins at the Citi Open in Washington, D.C.
Williams’ first match in over a year was in the women’s doubles tournament in Washington. She teamed up with Hailey Baptiste and defeated Eugenie Bouchard and Clervie Ngounoue. On the following day, the seven-time Grand Slam champion was given center stage to complete the biggest shock of the tournament so far when she stunned fellow American and World No. 35 Peyton Stearns in straight sets.
Although her doubles campaign came to a dramatic conclusion on Wednesday (lost 10-6 in deciding tie-break), she is slated to play fifth seed Magdalena Frech on Thursday night on Stadium Court.
Venus Williams Receives Cincinnati Open Wild Card
Ahead of her second-round match at the Citi Open, Williams has accepted a main draw wild card for the 2025 Cincinnati Open, which kicks off on August 5th. It is the second leg of the WTA 1000 tournaments this summer, just before the US Open.
The announcement was confirmed on the tournament’s official social media channels, with Williams and Ohio native Caty McNally among the first recipients of wild cards for the 2025 edition.
A legend and a local are heading to Cincy! pic.twitter.com/EquhzAL3f1
— Cincinnati Open (@CincyTennis) July 23, 2025
It will be Venus’ 10th main draw appearance in Cincinnati and her first since 2023, when she was knocked out in the second round. Her best result at the event was a semifinal finish in 2012, and she was a quarterfinalist in 2019.
By accepting a Cincinnati wild card, this now fuels the question whether Williams is eyeing another appearance at the upcoming final Grand Slam of the season at the US Open. She won the singles title in New York twice in her distinguished career, and the growing belief is that she will be granted another wild card if she desires to compete there. And so far, judging her movement and surprisingly good level in Washington, she might be considering one potentially last swan song inside the Arthur Ashe Stadium.
Main Photo Credit: Cara Owsley-USA TODAY Sports
