TORONTO (AFP) – Seven-time Grand Slam champion Venus Williams has been invited to next month’s Toronto Open as a key player in the raffle.
The American will compete in Toronto for the first time since 2019 and will return to compete in the WTA Tour singles competition for the first time since August 2021.
The Wimbledon champion, the former five-time world number one, last played mixed pairs with Britain’s Jimmy Murray earlier this month at Wimbledon.
Williams won 41 WTA singles championships and an Olympic gold medal.
His sister Serena Williams is on the official list of participants in the Toronto Open that was released last week.
For Serena, the tournament will be her first hardcourt competition in North America in two years and follow her career at Wimbledon, where she was knocked out in the first round in June.
Asked after the loss if he would play again, the 40-year-old Williams said he did not know.
The three-time Toronto champion ran into the tournament in 2019, when she withdrew due to back spasms in the final against Canadian Bianca Andreescu.
Andreescu defeated Serena Williams a month later in the US Open final, which Toronto was a preparation for.
Andreescu was also invited to participate in the Toronto Open among the top 20 riders.
Three more invitations will be made to Canadians as the start of the tournament, scheduled for August 6-14, approaches.
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