Five years after her last appearance, Venus Williams is set to return to the Australian Open.
At 45, Williams will become the oldest woman to compete in a main draw at the tournament, surpassing the previous record held by Kimiko Date, who was 44 when she played at Melbourne Park more than a decade ago.
Williams confirmed in November that she would return to competition in Auckland, where she received a wild card shortly before the Australian Open.
Her comeback comes 28 years after her tournament debut in 1998. That year, she defeated her younger sister Serena Williams in the second round before losing in the quarterfinals to fellow American Lindsay Davenport.
The 2026 Australian Open begins on January 18 in Melbourne.