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

During an appearance in Denmark on Sunday, former world No. 1 Venus Williams denied she would be playing at the upcoming BNP Paribas Open, despite the tournament announcing in a press release Wednesday that the 44-year-old had been given a wild card.

Venus Williams is not done with pro tennis yet as the 44-year-old has accepted a main draw wildcard into the WTA 1000 tournament in Indian Wells. That means that the seven-time Grand Slam champion - who hasn't played since last March - is set to compete again after 12 months.

Venus Williams hasn't played in a professional tennis match since March 2024, and she's ready to make her return. The seven-time major singles champion will compete at the BNP Paribas Open at Indian Wells, which begins on March 5. The tournament announced the news on Wednesday.

Copyright © 2025 Bleacher Report, Inc. A Warner Bros. Discovery Company. All Rights Reserved.

Venus Williams has received a wild-card entry for the BNP Paribas Open. That will make next month’s tournament in Indian Wells, California, the seven-time Grand Slam singles champion’s first event in nearly a full year.

Former world No. 1 Venus Williams has been awarded a wild card for the BNP Paribas Open at Indian Wells. The 44-year-old will be returning to court after nearly a year.

Former world number one Venus Williams has been given a wildcard for this year's Indian Wells tournament, organisers said on Wednesday, allowing the 44-year-old American to compete at the WTA 1000-level event for the 10th time.

Venus Williams will return to singles action at the age of 44 next month after being handed a wild card for Indian Wells. The seven-time grand slam singles champion will compete for the first time since March 2024 after an injury-hit year, while she has not won a Tour-level match since August 2023.

Venus Williams received a wild-card entry on Wednesday for the BNP Paribas Open, making next month’s tournament in Indian Wells, California, the seven-time Grand Slam singles champion’s first event in nearly a full year.