Two-time former US Open champion Venus Williams has been handed a wild card into this month’s tournament at the age of 45.
The seven-time Grand Slam winner made a surprise comeback to tennis earlier this summer after more than a year out of the sport, and she will be back under the bright lights in New York later this month.
Williams showed she can still compete after beating fellow American Peyton Stearns in the first round at the Washington Open last week.
And now the former world No 1 is set to become the oldest singles player to compete at Flushing Meadows since Renee Richards, aged 47 in 1981.
It will be Williams’ 25th appearance at the New York major, 25 years after she first won it in 2000.
She is also on the entry list for the new-look mixed doubles event alongside another American, Reilly Opelka.
US tennis icon Venus Williams has been handed a wildcard for the US Open later this month
She recently shared recent photos of when she had surgery to remove fibroids from her uterus
Williams recently confirmed that she is engaged to her actor boyfriend, Andrea Preti
The decision to play at Flushing Meadows comes soon after she opened up on the depths of her recent health struggles, a year on from having surgery to remove fibroids from her uterus.
The tennis icon, who recently confirmed her engagement to her actor boyfriend Andrea Preti, took a 16-month break from tennis due to the issue, returning to the court back in July.
Now, for the first time, Williams has revealed just how much her condition was impacting her life away from tennis in a moving Instagram post 12 months on from her operation in New York.
‘On this day 1 year ago I was having surgery, an open myomectomy to remove fibroids and a large focal adenomyoma that was imbedded in the muscle of my uterus,’ Williams wrote on Instagram.
‘What a difference a year makes! I played my first tournament in over 16 months and I am now preparing for the US Open. This post is in celebration of the last day of fibroid awareness month. There can be happy endings!’
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