Venus Williams accepted an invitation to the Joker to play in single at DC Open this month, which would be the first tournament of the Grand Slam champion in more than a year.
Williams, who was 45 years old in June, is listed as “inactive” on the WTA tour website.
She did not participate in an official match since the Miami Open in 2024.
“There is something really special at DC: The Energy, The Fans, The History,” Williams said in a statement published on Friday by the organizers of the Hard-Court tournament, which begins with the qualification next weekend. “This city has always shown me so much love, and I can’t wait to compete again there.”
Williams also played in the national capital in 2022.
“She has inspired people around the world with her achievements on the ground and her visionary impact out of the field,” said Mark Ein, president of the Mubadala Citi DC Open. “I know how much it means for our DC fans and our community to be able to see it compete in person this summer.”
In February, the tournament in Indian Wells, California, announced that Williams would return to the tour by playing there, then going later and said that it turned out that it would not do it.
The most recent appearances of Williams’ Grand Colem occurred in 2023, when she went out in the first round at Wimbledon – after slipping the first set and injured her right knee – and the United States opens.
Its five simple championships in the All England Club took place in 2000, 2001, 2005, 2007, 2008 and it also won the titles in Simple 2000 and 2001 US Open. She also won 14 Grand Chelem double titles alongside her younger sister, Serena, whose last tournament was US Open 2022, and a total of four Olympic gold medals.
The oldest Williams said in 2011 that it had been diagnosed with Sjögren syndrome, an autoimmune energy disease that can cause joint pain.
