Venus Williams, 46, Gets US Open Wild Card; Slot Held for Serena

Venus Williams has been given a wild card into the singles main draw of the U.S. Open, the USTA announced Tuesday, with one additional women's wild card still to be revealed — a spot that could go to her sister Serena Williams.

At 46, Venus would become the oldest woman to enter the tournament's singles draw since Renee Richards played at 47 in 1981, according to the International Tennis Federation. She last competed at the U.S. Open, a tournament she won twice, in 2023, then returned last year on a wild card.

Sloane Stephens, the 2017 U.S. Open champion, was among six other women awarded wild cards. Also receiving them were Carol Young Suh Lee, Reese Brantmeier, Thea Frodin, Leolia Jeanjean and Taylah Preston.

Venus and Serena have been playing doubles together again, teaming up this week at the Cincinnati Open — their first doubles event together since the 2022 U.S. Open. They lost Monday's match in a tiebreaker to Marta Kostyuk and Peyton Stearns.

The sisters had also planned to play doubles at Wimbledon but withdrew after Serena injured her knee during a singles match there, her first singles appearance since the 2022 U.S. Open. She said afterward she hoped to keep competing if healthy.

On the men's side, wild cards went to 39-year-old Gael Monfils, who will play his final Grand Slam tournament before retiring, and Australian Alexei Popyrin, who upset Novak Djokovic in 2024. One men's wild card slot also remains open. Other men's recipients include two-time NCAA singles champion Michael Zheng, Martin Damm, J.J. Wolf, Sebastian Gorzny and Jack Kennedy.

The U.S. Open main draw begins August 30, with qualifying matches earlier that week.