Venus Williams clears up Indian Wells wildcard mix up

Communication was clearly lacking between organisers of the Indian Wells and Venus Williams as the tennis great has revealed that she found out about receiving a wildcard for the event at the last minute.

A headline from the WTA 1000 tournament on Thursday stated "Seven-time Grand Slam champion and former world No. 1 Venus Williams set to make tenth career appearance in Indian Wells; Two-time Wimbledon champion Petra Kvitova returns to Tennis Paradise following birth of her first child".

The website added that the American was due to make her 10th appearance at Indian Wells, having reached three semi-finals.

But there will be no 11th appearance in 2025 as organisers have been forced to backtrack following Williams' "amusing" announcement over the weekend.

The legendary Williams played only two matches in 2024 - both in March last year - and it is unclear when she will return to action, although she has indicated she is not ready to retire just yet.

"No, I'm not playing [at Indian Wells]," the 44-year-old said during 'An Evening with Venus Williams' in Denmark. "Actually, I found the announcement super amusing because, I don't know, people seem to be happy, so I was like, 'Maybe I'll just go with it, I don't know.'

"I'm actually not going. I'm going to be overseas. I'm not going to be [there]. I just had a player text me today too, like, 'Can you play doubles?' [But] I'm not playing.

"I found out about the wildcard when you guys did. Just saying. And 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 already made commitments."

Indian Wells Tournament Director Tommy Haas gave an update after the confusion, stating: "Our team has been informed that Venus is not accepting the wildcard this year. We wish Venus all the best and hope to see her back in Indian Wells in the future."

Venus and her sister, fellow legend, Serena boycotted the tournament for 15 years following a 2001 incident during which the younger Williams sister was booed during the final against Kim Clijsters.

The fans jeered the Williams sisters as well as their father Richard after Venus withdrew with an injury form the semi-final against Serena as they believed the family had pre-determined who will play in the final.

But there is good news for Haas and the rest of the WTA 1000 event's organisers as Kvitova has accepted her wildcard with the two-time major champion returning to action following the birth of her first child, a boy named Petra, last July.

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