Venus Williams Set To Play At BNP Paribas Open In Coachella Valley

INDIAN WELLS, CA — Venus Williams will return to the Coachella Valley after receiving a wild card to the BNP Paribas Open next month at Indian Wells Tennis Garden.

"I'm so excited to be heading back to Indian Wells and can't wait to return home to play in California," Williams said in a statement. "This tournament is always such a special experience and there's nothing like competing in front of these incredible fans."

The 45-year-old Williams will be making her 10th appearance in the tournament and first since 2024. She is a three-time singles semifinalist.

Williams and her sister boycotted the tournament from 2002 though 2014 following a 2001 incident where they experienced intense booing and alleged racist abuse from the crowd. The boycott stemmed from a withdrawal by Venus Williams from a planned semifinal match against her sister, followed by a hostile atmosphere during Serena Williams' final win

Williams has accepted a wild card -- a special invitation granted to a player despite having a ranking too low to qualify or missing the entry deadline or being granted to a player without going through qualifying matches - - into the women's singles and doubles draw.

Williams is 555th in the Women's Tennis Association singles rankings and 143rd in the doubles rankings. She has lost six consecutive singles matches since defeating fellow American Peyton Stearns, 6-3, 6-4, in a first-round match of the Mubadala Citi DC Open July 22.

Williams and Canadian Leylah Fernandez reached the U.S. Open quarterfinals in September but have lost their last three matches.

Williams will be playing doubles at Indian Wells for the first time since 2000 when she and her sister reached the semifinals.

Main draw women's singles play is set to begin March 4, with doubles play beginning the following day. The tournament is set to conclude March 15.

City News Service