Watch out, tennis world: Venus Williams isn’t finished with Grand Slams just yet.
The 42-year-old tennis veteran shocked fans earlier this week when she made an unexpected wild card request to appear in this year’s mixed doubles lineup at Wimbledon.
Williams chose a familiar family tennis swap as her doubles partner.
The five-time Wimbledon champion will take the courts with British player Jamie Murray, who is ranked No. 21 in the ATP’s doubles rankings.
Murray is the older brother of tennis star Andy Murray, who served as sister Serena Williams’ mixed doubles partner during Wimbledon in 2019.
Last year, Venus partnered with controversial Australian player Nick Kyrgios for mixed doubles before an injury to Kyrgios caused the pair to withdraw from their second-round match.
Wimbledon will mark Williams’ first return to the center stage in nearly a year. Williams’ last appearance was at the Chicago Open in 2021, where she was the oldest athlete in the draw and lost in the first round to Taiwan’s Hsieh Su-wei.
Despite the long break and a persistent leg injury that has previously kept Williams off the courts, the mixed doubles pair is not to be underestimated, with both players each having two major mixed doubles titles under their belts.
Serena Williams faced an early exit from Wimbledon after her first-round loss to France’s Harmony Tan.
For fans of the Williams sisters who were disappointed by Serena’s short-lived Wimbledon run, Venus has given spectators something to look forward to at the All England Club.
The tennis duo is set to take on 44th-ranked Alicja Rosolska and 9th-ranked Michael Venus in the first round.
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