Venus Williams handed wild card to play Wimbledon singles at 43

Venus Williams (Pic: AFP)

Venus Williams is gearing up for her 24th appearance in the singles draw at Wimbledon after the 43-year-old American was given a wild-card entry on Wednesday.

Williams is a five-time Wimbledon singles champion and was a finalist at the grass-court major in 2017, two decades after her debut at the All England Club.

Ranked 697th, Williams beat 48th-ranked Camila Giorgi 7-6 (5), 4-6, 7-6 (6) on Monday at the Birmingham Classic. It was her first victory over a player in the top 50 in nearly four years.

The seven-time Grand Slam champion next plays Jelena Ostapenko at the Wimbledon warm-up event.

Williams' younger sister Serena is a seven-time Wimbledon champion. Serena Williams lost in the first round at last year's tournament and soon after announced her decision to step away from tennis.

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Ukrainian player Elina Svitolina and British players Heather Watson and Katie Boulter were also given wild cards for the women's draw. David Goffin, a Belgian who reached the Wimbledon quarterfinals in 2019 and 2022, was among of the men given wild cards.

Meanwhile, Williams clinched her first victory over a top-50 opponent in four years, beating Camila Giorgi in the WTA event in Birmingham on Monday. Ignoring a knee problem that needed treatment in the first set and left her close to tears, Williams won a singles match for the second time in nearly two years. Williams, 43, battled to a 7-6 (7/5), 4-6, 7-6 (8/6) first-round win over World No. 48 Giorgi in three hours and 16 minutes.

She might be in well into the twilight of her glittering career, but the seven-time Grand Slam champion still relishes the feeling of winning a hard-fought match. She said: "This one is especially sweet because I've been away from the Tour for so long. The last couple of years I've had little to no matches. There's a lot of memories and deja vu. Tennis is awesome."

(With agency inputs)