Venus Williams never accepted Indian Wells wildcard: "I'm not playing"

Last week, many tennis fans were pleasantly surprised to find out Venus Williams had accepted a wildcard spot to play in the 2025 BNP Paribas Open at Indian Wells. The news came as an official announcement from tournament organizers.

However, fans were not the only ones caught off guard by the announcement from tournament organizers. Williams said she never accepted the wildcard spot and is not competing in the WTA 1000 event.

Williams recently spoke at an event in Denmark and was asked about playing Indian Wells. The 44-year-old replied, "Actually, I'm not. That wasn't true. That wasn't true. No, I'm not playing."

Venus Williams confirms she did not accept the wild card to play Indian Wells:
"I'm not playing. I found out about the wild card when you guys did. Just saying. I love Indian Wells, I would love to be there and if I could have accepted it, I would have been like, yes. But I… pic.twitter.com/y3CXDUKquL
— Tennis Weekly Podcast (@tennisweeklypod) February 23, 2025

She recounted her initial reactions to the news breaking, "Actually, I found the announcement super amusing because, I don't know, people seem to be happy, so I was like, maybe I'll just go with it I don't know. I'm actually not going."

The seven-time singles Grand Slam champion explained that she would be overseas at that time and watching it on television.

She did share a funny anecdote, "I just had a player text me today too, like "can you play doubles?" I'm not playing. I found out about the wild card when you guys did. Just saying."

Despite the news that Venus Williams is not playing Indian Wells, she did confirm today that she is training and staying in shape for when she next plays and confirmed she did hit in Denmark this morning, so there is hope that we will see her on a tennis court in the future.
— Tennis Weekly Podcast (@tennisweeklypod) February 23, 2025

Williams concluded, "And I love Indian Wells. I would love to be there and if I could have accepted it, I would have been like, yes. But I already made commitments."

Although it is disappointing to many fans that Williams will not be playing Indian Wells, the tennis icon did confirm today that she is training and staying in shape for when she returns to the court.

The 2025 BNP Paribas Open is scheduled for March 2-16, 2025. Every year, the Coachella Valley transforms into the epicenter of the tennis universe as the best players in the world descend on Indian Wells for what is called "tennis paradise."

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