Venus Williams made her WTA Tour return on Monday, appearing alongside Hailey Baptiste to win her first round match at the Washington Open.
Venus is a great of the game, having won seven Grand Slam singles titles and 14 Grand Slam doubles titles alongside her sister Serena.
Her return to the tour has been much anticipated, and she did not disappoint. Venus – a two-time US Open champion – and Baptiste made light work of their opponents, winning 6-3 6-1.
However, there is an argument to be made that Venus should not be competing in Washington at all, when considering her position as an unranked player. Her former coach, Rick Macci, discussed the matter in an X [Twitter] post on Monday.
Moving forward to August, one must consider the possibility of Venus being offered a wildcard for the US Open. This would certainly be contentious, given the profile of the tournament and the opportunities a Grand Slam provides for young players trying to establish themselves on the WTA Tour.
Andy Roddick, another American tennis great, has weighed in on this issue.
Andy Roddick says he wouldn’t be offended by a wildcard for Venus Williams at the US Open if she is ‘generally competitive’
Roddick, who said Venus’ Washington Open wildcard was a ‘no-brainer,’ was asked by co-host Jon Wertheim on the ‘Served with Andy Roddick’ podcast whether he would feel differently if Venus asked for a wildcard at the US Open.
Roddick replied: “I have a feeling we’re trending towards that. I don’t know why you play Washington all of a sudden if you don’t have the intent to play the US Open and you know, I don’t know anything, I haven’t talked to anyone close to the situation but it would seem like DC will lend itself to another event and I’d say John if those go okay then I don’t have much of a problem with the US Open.
“I think wildcards should be used for a couple things: you add value to a smaller event, without losing credibility.
“If you have a seven-time major champ… you either have someone you want to give a boost to on the way up or a champion that is either saying goodbye and/or trying to claw back something.
“This qualifies under all of those things and there’s no doubt it adds value not only on court, but off the court having Venus talk about it.
“All of a sudden DC’s in the press cycle this week, so there are a lot of factors.
“If she plays fine and is generally competitive… basically what we’re asking is, is she going to be better than some 15-year-old who gets a direct exemption from winning a junior tournament.
“She’s probably just as good as that, absolutely. So it doesn’t offend me.”
Andy Roddick previews Venus Williams vs Peyton Stearns
Ahead of Venus Williams’ first round match, Andy Roddick discussed how her opponent, Peyton Stearns, may look to break down the five-time Wimbledon champion.
Speaking on the same podcast, Roddick said: “I hope she plays well. Peyton Stearns’ not an easy draw.
“She’s going to have to make a lot of balls and Peyton Stearns will be looking to extend that match and extend the fitness level of someone who hasn’t played on tour in a while.”
Stearns, ranked 35 in the world, has only won one of her last four matches dating back to the French Open. However, she did put together an impressive run at the 2025 Italian Open, beating Madison Keys, Naomi Osaka and Elina Svitolina on her way to the semi-final stage, before losing to Jasmine Paolini.
