NEW YORK — Venus Williams was given a US Open singles wild card on Tuesday (Wednesday in Manila), and the tournament is keeping one on hold — perhaps in case her sister Serena wants to join her.
Sloane Stephens, the 2017 US Open champion, was one of six other women to receive a wild card, and the US Tennis Association said the final one is still to be announced.
That almost certainly would go to Serena Williams, if she decides she wants to return to the tournament at 44.
Venus Williams received a wild card last year, returning to the Grand Slam event she won twice for the first time since 2023. The 46-year-old has become the oldest entrant in singles at the tournament since Renee Richards played at 47 in 1981, according to the International Tennis Federation.
She has continued to play some singles matches and this week joined Serena for their first doubles tournament together since the 2022 US Open. They lost on Monday at the Cincinnati Open in a match tiebreaker against Marta Kostyuk and Peyton Stearns.
The sisters planned to play at Wimbledon but had to withdraw after Serena injured her knee in her singles match. That marked her first time playing singles since the 2022 US Open, and she indicated afterward that she hoped to keep competing if healthy.
Headlining the wild card recipients on the men’s side were 39-year-old Gael Monfils, a past US Open semifinalist who is set to play his final Grand Slam tournament before retiring, and Australian Alexei Popyrin, who upset Novak Djokovic in 2024 on the way to the fourth round.
