Former world No. 1 Venus Williams stated she won’t be taking part in on the upcoming BNP Paribas Open throughout an occasion in Denmark on Sunday.
The event introduced in a press launch Wednesday that the 44-year-old Williams was given a wild card for entry and would play within the 1000-level occasion, which begins March 2 in Indian Wells, California. It was slated to be her first WTA event in almost a yr.
However Williams informed the gang at Enviornment Næstved for “An Night with Venus Williams” on Sunday that it “wasn’t true” when requested about it.
“No, I am not taking part in,” Williams stated. “Truly, I discovered the announcement tremendous amusing as a result of, I do not know, individuals appear to be joyful, so I used to be like, ‘Possibly I am going to simply go along with it, I do not know.’ I am truly not going. I’ll be abroad. I am not going to be [there] … I simply had a participant textual content me at this time too, like, ‘Are you able to play doubles?’ [But] I am not taking part in.
“I discovered in regards to the wild card if you guys did. Simply saying. And I like Indian Wells, I’d like to be there and if I might have accepted it, I’d have been like, ‘Sure.’ However I already made commitments.”
Representatives for the BNP Paribas Open have but to answer ESPN’s request for remark. On the event’s web site Sunday, Williams remained on the participant checklist as a wild card.
Williams, a seven-time main singles champion and the winner of 49 WTA singles trophies, has not performed because the Miami Open final March and has performed sparingly over the previous few seasons, sparking longtime hypothesis about her future within the sport and elevating questions on whether or not she had privately retired.
She competed in simply two occasions in 2024 — shedding within the first spherical at Indian Wells and Miami — and received three matches in seven tournaments in 2023. She is ranked No. 974 on this planet.