Venus Williams gets wild card to play singles at Wimbledon

Venus Williams is set to make her 24th appearance in the singles draw at Wimbledon after the 43-year-old American was given a wild-card entry on Wednesday.

Williams is a five-time Wimbledon singles champion and was a finalist at the grass-court major in 2017, two decades after her debut at the All England Club.

Ranked 697th, Williams beat 48th-ranked Camila Giorgi 7-6 (5), 4-6, 7-6 (6) on Monday at the Birmingham Classic.

It was her first victory over a player in the top 50 in nearly four years. The seven-time Grand Slam champion next plays Jelena Ostapenko at the Wimbledon warm-up event. Williams’ younger sister Serena is a seven-time Wimbledon champion.

Serena Williams lost in the first round at last year’s tournament and soon after announced her decision to step away from tennis.

Wimbledon begins on July 3.