Venus Williams, 45, gets singles wild card for US Open - ESPN

Venus Williams will make her return to Grand Slam tennis at the US Open after a two-year absence, receiving a wild-card invitation Wednesday to compete in singles at Flushing Meadows at age 45.

The American will be the oldest entrant in singles at the tournament since Renée Richards was 47 in 1981, according to the International Tennis Federation.

Williams already had been given a wild-card entry by the U.S. Tennis Association for next week's mixed doubles competition. Singles matches begin in New York on Aug. 24.

She has won seven major singles championships — including at the US Open in 2000 and 2001 — along with another 14 in women's doubles, all won with her younger sister, Serena, plus two in mixed doubles. Serena Williams retired with 23 Slam singles trophies after playing at the 2022 US Open.

The older Williams last participated in a Grand Slam tournament at the 2023 US Open, losing in the first round. She hasn't won a singles match there since 2019.

Williams returned to competitive tennis in July after being away from the sport for more than a year. She won one match at the DC Open before being knocked out in the first round in Cincinnati last week.

«Coming off of this match, I feel amazing,» Williams said after the Cincinnati loss. «So that means that in this next period [ahead of the US Open] I won't have to fix injuries. Now I can work on power and speed instead of trying to just make sure I'm not hurt going into the tournament.»

Last year, Williams had surgery to remove uterine fibroids and missed most of the season. In Washington, she became the oldest woman to win a tour-level singles match since Martina Navratilova was 47 at Wimbledon in 2004; Williams also won a doubles match at the DC Open.

In the