Venus Williams Declines Invitation to Make Tennis Return at Indian Wells

The seven-time major champion hasn't played in a competition in nearly a year.

Venus Williams returns a shot at the 2024 BNP Paribas Open. / Jayne Kamin-Oncea-Imagn Images

The BNP Paribas Open announced last Wednesday that Venus Williams received an invitation to compete in the tournament, which would be her first competition in nearly a year. However, the seven-time major champion has declined the invitation.

Part of the reason for her decision to decline was that she found out at the same time as the rest of the world that she had been invited—through social media. She already had other plans.

"No, I'm not playing," Williams said during Sunday's An Evening With Venus Williams. "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. I'm going to be overseas. I'm not going to be [there]. ... I just had a player text me today too, like, 'Can you play doubles?' [But] I'm not playing.

"I found out about the wild card when you guys did. Just saying. 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."

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

Now tennis fans will have to wait a little bit longer for Williams to make her official return back to the sport. She hasn't competed since last March, and she hasn't won a tennis match since August 2023.

There have, of course, been questions of whether Williams is nearing retirement at age 44, conversation that has increased since her sister Serena Williams retired back in Sept. 2022. She has not made any announcement about a retirement decision.

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