Venus Williams earns wild card entry for mixed doubles event in US Open

NEW YORK: Venus Williams is set to compete at the US Open, which is scheduled to take place next month. She will enter the mixed doubles event with Reilly Opelka via a wild-card entry.

The 45-year-old returned to the tennis tour last week, after spending 16 months away from the sport. The seven-time Grand Slam champion and her partner, Opelka, were among the 14 teams announced on Tuesday by the US Tennis Association for its mixed doubles event.

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A total of 16 pairs will compete for the top prize. Eight teams received a direct entry, while six teams got wild cards to the US Open Mixed Doubles Championship. The final two wild cards will be announced at a later date. The pairs who received a direct entry included those who had the highest combined current singles rankings.

Last week, the four-time Olympic champion, who hadn’t featured in a tournament since the Miami Open in March 2024, secured a victory in one match each in the singles and doubles events at the DC Open.

The eight duos with direct entry consist of Emma Navarro (No. 11) and Jannik Sinner (No. 1); Paula Badosa (No. 10) and Jack Draper (No. 5); Iga Swiatek (No. 3) and Casper Ruud (No. 13); Elena Rybakina (No. 12) and Taylor Fritz (No. 4); Amanda Anisimova (No. 7) and Holger Rune (No. 9); Belinda Bencic (No. 20) and Alexander Zverev (No. 3); Jessica Pegula (No. 4) and Tommy Paul (No. 15); Mirra Andreeva (No. 5) and Daniil Medvedev (No. 14).

Apart from the pair of Williams-Opelka, the wild-card entrants include Emma Raducanu (No. 33) and Carlos Alcaraz (No. 2); Madison Keys (No. 8) and Frances Tiafoe (No. 12); Olga Danilovic (No. 40) and Novak Djokovic (No. 6); Taylor Townsend (No. 75) and Ben Shelton (No. 7); and Sara Errani and Andrea Vavassori, US Open 2024 mixed doubles champions. (ANI)