{
  "id": 1757220,
  "title": "Venus Williams given US Open singles wildcard - will Serena join her?",
  "url": "https://urgent.news/2026/08/18/venus-williams-given-us-open-singles-wildcard-will-serena-join-her",
  "topic": "culture",
  "section": "Culture",
  "published": "2026-08-18T17:07:31.000Z",
  "source": {
    "name": "BBC Sport",
    "slug": "bbc-sport",
    "url": "https://www.bbc.co.uk/sport/tennis/articles/ckgew7881lno?at_medium=RSS&at_campaign=rss"
  },
  "original_language": "en",
  "account": "Venus Williams has received a wildcard for the US Open singles tournament, which will take place starting on Sunday, 30 August. Her sister Serena, 44, remains eligible to join her should a spot become available. Venus, 46, first competed in New York 29 years ago and reached the singles final in her debut year, 1997. She has won two of her seven Grand Slam singles titles at Flushing Meadows in 2000 and 2001. The sisters were initially scheduled to play doubles together at Wimbledon but withdrew after Serena suffered a knee injury during their first-round loss to Maya Joint. They later returned to compete at the Cincinnati Open, where they lost a three-set match. Venus has played only one Grand Slam match this year and is currently winless in 13 singles matches, the bulk of which have been losses. She has not won a singles title at a Grand Slam since Wimbledon in 2021, where she reached the second round. Despite her recent struggles, the Williams sisters draw large crowds when they play together or separately. Serena, a 23-time Grand Slam singles champion, last competed in the US Open in 2022 and returned to tennis in June after a four-year hiatus. She played doubles at Wimbledon before receiving her final wildcard for the women's singles. Meanwhile, in the men's draw, France's Gael Monfils has been granted a wildcard for the final Grand Slam of his career, which he plans to retire from at the end of the season. Stan Wawrinka, the 2016 champion, is also eligible for one remaining wildcard in the men's singles, though he too is retiring at the conclusion of the year.",
  "summary": "Venus Williams is given a wildcard for the US Open singles aged 46 - and 29 years after she made her New York debut.",
  "key_points": [],
  "editors_take": null,
  "illustration": null,
  "coverage": {
    "outlets": 1,
    "also_reported_by": []
  },
  "ai_generated": true,
  "disclaimer": "Summaries, key points and the editor’s take are written by software from other outlets’ reporting and may contain errors — always check the linked original."
}