Venus Williams, 44, makes shock U-turn after a year out to play in ‘fifth Grand Slam’ where she once refused to play

VENUS WILLIAMS has taken a wildcard into next month's Masters event in Indian Wells. The tennis legend, 44, has not played on the WTA Tour since a first round exit in Miami last March. She will end her near-12 month hiatus in the California desert next month, with Indian Wells' main draw beginning on March 5.

Williams is currently ranked No.974 in the world. Her last win came over Veronika Kudermetova at the Western & Southern Open in August 2023. She has since lost matches against Zheng Qinwen, Greet Minnen, Nao Hibino and Diana Shnaider. Williams first reached the semi-finals of Indian Wells, sometimes dubbed the "fifth slam", all the way back in 1998 and has played the event 10 times.

She boycotted it for 15 years following the 2001 edition, after being unhappy with treatment received by her sister Serena during her final with Kim Clijsters. Fans booed Serena on that occasion, after Elena Dementieva had accused the sisters' father Richard of manipulating results between his daughters.

With Venus having withdrawn from their scheduled semi-final with a knee injury, fans jeered and whistled Serena in the title match. JOIN SUN VEGAS: GET £50 BONUS. Writing an essay in Time magazine ahead of her Indian Wells return in 2015, Serena revealed that some of her treatment had been racist in nature.

An excerpt read: "The false allegations - that our matches were fixed - hurt, cut and ripped into us deeply. The undercurrent of racism was painful, confusing and unfair.". While Serena returned to Indian Wells in 2015, Venus made her comeback to the event the following year.

The seven-time Grand Slam champion and former world No.1 played at Indian Wells in 2024 following a further five-year absence, losing in round one to Nao Hibino. Last October, Williams revealed that she was not ready to call it a day. The legendary star, who turned pro all the way back in 1994, told the Irish News: "I’m not done with the racquet yet.

"At this point, it’s about picking and choosing places I want to be. "Last year I really wanted to play in Miami – home – because I hadn’t played there in like five years. “It’s nice to be in a place where I can pick and choose, but my game is always at a high level. Even if I’m not on tour, I always keep my game quite high.

"I took some time off the court [after Miami] to do all kinds of things – I’m like, I need to go back to tennis so I can have some time to myself. “I always watch the tournaments as much as I can – it’s hard to sit in front of the TV, and a lot of times by the time I have time at like 11pm it’s a replay, but it’s still fun to watch all the competition.”.

In addition to Williams, Indian Wells has awarded a wildcard to two-time former Wimbledon champion Petra Kvitova. The Czech star, 34, is returning to action following the birth of her son last year. In the men's event, exciting teenage stars Joao Fonseca and Learner Tien have been awarded wildcards.