Venus Williams is BACK! And get this – she’s making a comeback at the “fifth Grand Slam,” a tournament she actually boycotted for almost 15 years! Remember last year when everyone thought she was retiring? She basically said, “Nope, not done yet!” But then…crickets. She hasn’t played since March 19th at the Miami Open, and her ranking plummeted to 974. But now, with this comeback news, everyone’s wondering: will we see one last amazing run from Venus before she finally hangs up her racket?

Renowned tennis journalist Ben Rothenberg put up a tweet on Venus Williams’ comeback news stating, “I’d heard during the #AusOpen that Venus Williams had started training again, and lo and behold, now she’s received a main draw wildcard into ATP/WTA 1000 Indian Wells. Venus hasn’t played in nearly a year, since playing first-round matches in Indian Wells and Miami last March.” 

Williams’ wildcard at the Indian Wells Masters has now ensured her 10th appearance in this iconic tournament. She lost her opening match here last season, but we must not forget that Williams has been a semi-finalist in this tournament on three occasions (1998, 2001, and 2018). According to the ITF date, the last tournament in which Venus Williams played without the use of a wildcard was the 2021 Chicago Open.

The 44-year-old tennis star was recently spotted doing a few stretching exercises on the tennis court. She even uploaded a picture of that on her X handle with the caption, “Lavender afternoons 💜.” Seems like she’s keeping herself ready to pounce on her prey, isn’t it?

Besides, the seven-time Grand Slam champion shares a very notable history at the Indian Wells Masters. One that concerns her younger sister, Serena Williams.

Do you know Serena and Venus Williams had boycotted this tournament for almost 15 years after a controversial incident that took place in 2001? In that season, Venus was forced to pull out a last-minute withdrawal from her scheduled SF match due to her knee injury. However, later on, she was spotted sitting in the stands and watching her sister play against Kim Clijsters in the final. Even their father, Richard Williams, was also present alongside Venus Williams at that time.

However, a few moments later, Venus was met with jeers from the crowd and even Serena received a very hostile reception during her victory celebration. Their father later accused fans of racial abuse. Then, after a long gap, although Serena Williams returned to this competition in 2015, Venus Williams made her return a year later, in 2016.

Apart from Venus Williams, the two-time Wimbledon champion, Petra Kvitova, who is also returning to action after a 15-month break while giving birth to her first child has also been handed a wild card in this tournament. Other than that, two youngsters, Joao Fonseca and Learner Tien, are the two other wild-card recipients.

The Indian Wells Masters will commence from March 2 to 16, but as things look, all the focus will now be on Venus Williams! Everyone is ecstatic with her return, but do you know her sister had a massive role in keeping her going?

Venus Williams revealed how she was “not allowed to quit”

There was a time when the whole world was questioning Venus Williams’ retirement. Serena stood beside her like a rock and encouraged her not to give up.

In January 2024, Venus Williams released a statement where she mentioned, “My little sister, Serena, told me I’m not allowed to quit, and of course, I would never quit. But it’s the mandate. She said no, so I will be back on the court.” However, in October she spoke about how Serena Williams’ retirement put her into troubled waters initially!

We have always heard Venus Williams say that she can’t imagine to fathom her life without Serena. So, when Serena Williams took her retirement in September 2022, things got a bit difficult for Venus.

Many people around her speculated that now even the elder sister would bring an end to her career. Highlighting that in a previous interview, she said, “Serena ruined it for me because as soon as she retired, everybody thought I retired. And sometimes I even think we’re twins. So if you guys did think so we are, we are two separate people born on different days.“

She also spoke about how although she previously used to think she’d cry when she would finally have to take her retirement, now she has realized, “I won’t cry because I’ve definitely given everything to this sport.”

Venus Williams’ contribution to the sport is truly enormous. She’s now an inspiration for the next generation! What are your thoughts on her recent comeback news at the Indian Wells, though?