Venus Williams has been awarded a main draw singles wild card for the US Open in Flushing Meadows, New York, tournament officials announced on Tuesday.
The 46-year-old American will make her 26th appearance at Flushing Meadows, becoming the oldest singles competitor at the tournament since Renee Richards competed at age 47 in 1981, according to the International Tennis Federation.
Williams received a wild card last year, returning to the event after missing the 2023 tournament. The seven-time Grand Slam singles champion first played in New York 29 years ago, reaching the final on her singles debut in 1997 before winning titles at Flushing Meadows in 2000 and 2001.
Wild cards in professional tennis are special invitations granted by tournament organisers to players whose world ranking would not otherwise earn them direct entry into the main draw or qualifying rounds. The US Open, held annually at the USTA Billie Jean King National Tennis Center in Queens, is the fourth and final Grand Slam tournament of the tennis season.
The decision by the United States Tennis Association to grant Williams a wild card provoked significant criticism on social media, with many tennis fans arguing that the entry should have been allocated to a younger player.
Fan backlash over wild card allocation
Reaction across social media platform X was sharply divided following the announcement. "Another year of wasting wild cards..." wrote one fan.
"Venus does not deserve WCs any more," claimed another social media user, who added: "So glad that Fedal understands how to retire gracefully." The comment referenced retired former world number ones Roger Federer and Rafael Nadal.
"I will get criticized for this but Venus doesn't deserve a wildcard. A young female player deserves the spot," wrote a third user.
"Complete waste and denying a up and coming player much needed experience," echoed a fourth fan.
Another commenter wrote: "What a complete waste, she’s stealing someone else’s place.. she’s washed up and will get beat in two sets whoever she plays #embarrassing."
A further post directed criticism at both Williams sisters: "Serena doesn’t deserve a WC after what she pulled at Wimbledon not even doing press after. Totally disrespectful. And Venus needs to stop taking WC spots as well."
Serena Williams spot and women's draw entries
Sloane Stephens, the 2017 US Open champion, was among six other female players awarded a singles wild card. The United States Tennis Association confirmed that the eighth and final women's wild card is still to be announced.
That final invitation is widely expected to go to Serena Williams if the 44-year-old 23-time Grand Slam champion decides to return to competition at Flushing Meadows.
The other five players receiving main draw wild cards in the women's singles tournament are Carol Young Suh Lee, Reese Brantmeier, Thea Frodin, Leolia Jeanjean, and Taylah Preston.
Venus Williams has continued to compete in select singles matches and recently partnered with Serena in doubles at the Cincinnati Open in Ohio. The sisters lost on Monday in a match tiebreaker against Marta Kostyuk and Peyton Stearns in their first competitive doubles appearance together since the 2022 US Open.
The sisters had planned to play doubles at Wimbledon earlier this summer but withdrew after Serena suffered a knee injury during her singles match. That Wimbledon outing was Serena's first singles match since the 2022 US Open, after which she indicated that she hoped to continue competing if healthy.
Men's wild cards and qualifying field
Headlining the men's wild card recipients is 39-year-old Gael Monfils, a former US Open semifinalist who is preparing to play his final Grand Slam tournament before retiring from professional tennis.
Australian Alexei Popyrin, who defeated Novak Djokovic in 2024 on his way to the fourth round, also received a main draw wild card. One spot among the eight men's wild cards remains open, with 2016 champion Stan Wawrinka, who is 41 and playing his final season, considered a candidate.
The remaining men's main draw wild cards were awarded to two-time reigning NCAA singles champion Michael Zheng, Martin Damm, J.J. Wolf, Sebastian Gorzny, and Jack Kennedy.
Kei Nishikori, the 2014 US Open runner-up who is retiring, was awarded a wild card into the men's qualifying tournament alongside Jordan Lee, Trevor Svajda, Andre Ilagan, Spencer Johnson, Michael Antonius, Andrew Johnson, and Daniel Milavsky.
Women granted wild cards into the qualifying tournament include Caroline Dolehide, Janae Preston, Katrina Scott, Ayana Akli, Annika Penickova, Julieta Pareja, Kristina Penickova, and Savannah Broadus.
Main draw play at Flushing Meadows is scheduled to begin on August 30, with qualifying matches taking place earlier that week.
