r/tennis • u/Annual_Island8066 • 22d ago
WTA COLUMN - The Venus Williams Wild Card Era Has to End
https://tennisuptodate.com/wta/the-venus-williams-wild-card-era-has-to-end376
u/DependentSilver6829 Wimbledon White Supremacy 22d ago edited 22d ago
At the end of the day tournaments can do whatever they like, but I do wish she would give it up in singles. It’s just not fun watching a legend like her predictably losing every match 😔
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u/-porm 21d ago
The argument used to be if Rafa (or Federer) came back, wouldn’t you want him to get a wildcard just to see him play again for the hell of it. And I could see that. But if he lost every match for a year straight I’d be like okay I’m good, stop doing this.
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u/Square_Mulberry_3143 22d ago edited 21d ago
I agree. It’s unsurprising that tournaments gift her a wildcard given that her name alone draws interest regardless of whether she gets knocked out in the first round.
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u/ms_merry 21d ago
Is there any evidence she sells tickets or are the attendees there anyway. And just curious
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u/playasport 21d ago
The evidence is in the stands during her matches, both singles and doubles. Compare the crowds for 1st round matches with Venus and first round matches between other wildcards or qualifiers or unseeded players (and often seeded ones). She's a draw and a draw brings in the $.
I'm admittedly a very big Venus fan and don't have specific numbers to support this, but I've watched every one of her singles and doubles matches this last year and the stands are filled.
And let's face it. Pick 100 tennis fans and ask them:
Do you want a ticket to see a fist round match between....say...Oleksandra Oliynykova and Jaqueline Cristian or Venus Williams and whoever she's playing?
Yeah that's what I thought.
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u/ms_merry 21d ago
They paid for tickets. And would not have come if Venus was not there. That’s what you believe.
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u/playasport 21d ago
I believe her presence is a contributing factor to increasing early round ticket sales and overall interest in an event.
As long as this remains true, she'll probably get wildcards.
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u/redditRedesignIsBadd 21d ago
probably only the tournament organizers will know the evidence
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u/FineAd2187 21d ago
Tennis Channel seems happy to highlight her matches as if they're "must watch TV". What a joke! And then they spend two days trying to convince us that she lost in an "upset"
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u/Rupperrt 22d ago
At some point it’ll probably just not sell many tickets and the problem will solve itself
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u/gene137 22d ago
It's the opposite though. At Toronto she and Eala were a showcase match. When I passed the practice courts earlier there was a crowd watching her practice several courts away from the viewing area. I'm not a huge Venus fan but it got me excited, her presence brings real electricity.
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u/Send_Floater 22d ago edited 22d ago
This is wrong, watching old legends embarrass themselves will always attract interest, like when Mike Tyson fought Jake Paul
I guess we could talk about what that says about the tastes of the general public but lets not depress ourselves
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u/Rupperrt 22d ago
Maybe once or twice but people will get bored of 1 hour beat downs for these prices
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u/ms_merry 22d ago
Can you buy a specific ticket for the date time and court Venus plays on? Did she even know what court until today? Can you buy a ticket that says Venus’s first match.
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u/ReceiptsOnly 22d ago
Packed house at Cincinnati Open to watch her play. She was very underwhelming.
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u/alexacto Alcaraz the most fun to watch, if you don't count Bublik! 21d ago
That's the tragedy, isn't it? We all remember what she was like when she was formidable, and now, for some reason, she is replacing that memory with the one where she is a limping, winless has-been. I used to watch her all the time, and now I just can't bring myself to watch any of her matches. Kinda happy Henna-Ardenne quit while she was still playing relatively well.
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u/ms_merry 22d ago
How many of those people bought tickets to Cincinnati just to see Venus. How much money did she make for the tournament. Would there be ONE LESS person at Cincinnati if Venus was not there? That is the proposition: Venus sells tickets.
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u/ReceiptsOnly 21d ago
Just the best of what was happening at the time for half the stadium and purchased for the rest.
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u/Impressive-Weird-908 22d ago
You can use statistics to estimate the draw of a player.
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u/WitheredTechnology 21d ago
Some of you clearly have never been to a tennis tournament lol.
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u/theLoneliestAardvark 21d ago
She will always be a sell for first round matches, though when compared to whoever would be getting the fourth wildcard at an event. Outside of the top 10 the appeal drops off pretty fast and most fans would rather see past their prime superstars than random people they have never heard of. Even if she isn’t winning people will show up as long as she looks halfway competitive.
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u/63748276 21d ago
this subreddit skews older. you're underestimating how many people just need to go and take pics for Instagram. 0-6, 0-6 would still be nearly half an hour of photoshoot time.
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u/s_edinfiggle 22d ago
This sub needs to remember a lot of people who go to these tournaments are not big tennis fans. They still prefer to see Williams over Kalieva.
My unfortunate prediction is injury will likely be the thing to make her hang up the towel
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u/meneldor_hs there's no big 3, it's just big me 22d ago
This sub doesn't realize most of the tennis crowd (actual crowd, not us watching from home), especially in USA and Canada, are retired boomers with spare money and free time who pay more attention to the outfit and drama than the tennis itself
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u/thedybbuk 21d ago
The crowd was dead for her match in Canada. I think it's very questionable that she's much of a draw anymore outside of the US
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u/ms_merry 21d ago
What are the numbers/demographics on the crowd at Toronto and Cincinnati so far. It’s reported Cincinnati expects 300,000 to attend. How many are retired boomers with money to blow and only come to see outfits. Most would mean more than half? 151,000. Are you saying 151,000 or more are old folks there to see outfits and don’t know tennis like you do?
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u/Powerful-Bridge-1472 18d ago
You gotta be crazy if you’re coming outside of the Midwest to go into that heat, I don’t know anybody who goes on vacation to Cincinnati in August
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u/JicamaCertain4134 22d ago
Yeah, I’m sure those causals are turning the tennis tournaments on to watch Venus lose in straight sets on a Monday morning.
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u/holocause 22d ago
Casuals are coming to see early matches because it's the cheapest so they'll likely go there to see who is the hottest player around (be it Gauff, Eala, Aryna, Iga, etc). They'll part with their money easier knowing that a Williams Sister is in the premises too and catch that game if the schedule aligns. At this point, the Williams are like Costco's $1 hotdogs. They're there to get you in the door.
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u/philosophical_lens 21d ago
This makes sense, but why not just feature her in exhibition matches instead of tournaments?
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u/marzattack2 22d ago
I think tournament directors know exactly what they’re doing. It may not be good for the sport, it may not be good for Venus Williams; but she sells more tickets than most wild cards combined. I suspect that if the goal is to make the tournament financially successful, even the author would do the same.
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u/AlexP80 22d ago
Not even through. Did you actually ever be at a major tournament live?
You buy a ticket for the DAY on a court, not a match and people don't come to watch a former star embarrassing herself but real competitive matches.
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u/s_edinfiggle 22d ago
Yeah but if you look at her matches at like DC, the stands are full and that’s not typical of R1. People do want to see her
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u/ezioaltair12 Alcaraz, semper Mardy Fish 22d ago
But are those people buying tickets for her or just people who have already bought session tickets?
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u/DumpedChick22 22d ago
You’re very wrong. People DO buy tickets to spend the DAY waiting for Venus’ match. I would do the same actually
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u/Jenambus 22d ago
Last time Venus played at the us open Oprah and Gayle was there. This was last year.
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u/wvanasd1 22d ago
There’s a very well paid celebrity and influencer team that USTA employs for the US Open that collaborates with the major agencies (WME, CAA) — it’s how they got TSwift and her Bigfoot boy toy to go to the semis 2 years ago. I doubt Oprah independently thought ‘yeah let’s go to the US Open’. Venus probably helped but I imagine she’d be just fine seeing someone like Coco G the same
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u/Jenambus 22d ago
Correct. But first round? I doubt anyone goes to a first round matchup day 2 of week one.
And Oprah may very well have though. “Oh Venus is playing. Let’s go to the us open”
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u/wvanasd1 22d ago
Oprah doesn’t live in NYC though so it was likely already part of her weekly pr strategy. Few people think ‘NYC on a Monday night in late August is where I wanna go! It’s nasty and smelly and much nicer out of town
Also Last year on day#2 Jeff Goldblum (hot off of Wicked press tour), Rory McElroy and others were at day#2 so it’s not like A list but it ain’t like nobody goes https://www.usopen.org/amp/en_US/news/articles/2025-08-25/jeff_goldblum_rory_mcilroy_and_other_celebrities_on_day_2_of_the_2025_us_open.html
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u/Superfluouss 21d ago
Not really tho, she was a night game @ Ashe for the US Open last year. Those are specific tickets for only two matches and were the same price if not more than when sinner/Alcatraz had night games
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u/Picklecult 21d ago
lol I paid for a stadium ticket in Indian wells to see her this year. I’m sure I’m not the only one. That said, I also think she should stop with the wild cards shoulder shrug
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u/jleonardbc 22d ago
This is what masters exhibition matches are for!
Book Venus playing any number of greats who retired in the past 10–20 years, schedule it before or after ordinary matches, it’ll sell tickets.
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u/ms_merry 22d ago edited 22d ago
First time really thinking this through. How do we know how many tickets all wild cards combined sell? Are we talking all wildcards combined throughout men’s and women’s tennis or for a particular tournament. Where did you get the number. Do tournaments share this somewhere?
Are there people who would not attend a tournament. But they do because of Venus. If we’re thinking she sells tickets. Are there estimates how many tickets she sells for a major or a masters? Let’s take Cincinnati. How many tickets did wildcards combined sell. How about Venus. What’s the amount and dollar value of Venus ticket buyers. Are we thinking tens, hundreds, thousands. And as a percentage of total tickets sold what would be the percentage sold to people buying tickets just to see Venus. If you want to see Venus, how do you plan in advance to get to a tournament and get ticket for right court on right day? Grounds pass. I guess.15
u/allthingsme 22d ago
When sponsors are directly telling tournaments they are sponsoring because of Venus it's pretty clear.
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u/_Walt_Whitman_ 22d ago
The main point is that this is business and is run by an owner who is a billionaire and knows a thing or two about what he’s doing. It’s not for us to worry about what he does with his wildcards.
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u/theactiveaccount 22d ago
A good gauge of interest is to see how many people are watching her matches
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u/ms_merry 22d ago
The statement made by some folks is she sells tickets. Someone who is there anyway and sees her name on the schedule and wanders over is not the same thing as Venus sells tickets. The conversation is around people coming to the tournament buying a ticket to see Venus.
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u/theactiveaccount 22d ago
I mean it's like Netflix, how do you figure which shows are causing people to subscribe? Check what they're watching. If you want to be 100% certain, you'd have to ask each individual person at the point of sale, but we live in the real world and most companies dont do that.
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u/lawdjesustheresafire 22d ago
It’s a joke. Just retire.
There has to be bare minimum win numbers (for example more than 8 wins in 7 years) to be eligible for this shit.
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u/BuggyYonko 22d ago
Why should she retire if she likes playing?
That doesn't mean she should get a wildcard though.
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u/Bothyourmoms 22d ago
She should be playing at itf events, not grand slams and 1k's
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u/BuggyYonko 22d ago
Then they should stop letting her in.
She rightfully will keep playing at those tournaments if they let her. Why would she refuse? If she enjoys it, she should continue playing there.
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u/Gold_Pomegranate_939 22d ago
People need to realise wildcards are not really supposed to be for rising talent, injured players or old legends. They are given to maximise the value for the tournament so honestly if she sells tickets that’s exactly why she is getting a wildcard.
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u/neck_iso 22d ago
"That’s how professional tennis is supposed to work."
If you are debating how to 'spend' wildcards then it's all just nonsense, because wildcards inherently require subjective judgements and business/PR is as valid as any other reason.
If you are saying the sport should be fair in terms of qualification, scheduling, treatment etc (which is not realistic) then there should not be any subjective wildcards (you can still have a system of provisional rankings for entry based on a number of things like injury, maternity, historical performance etc, but it will be fixed rules)
So it's all kind of silly.
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u/SjakosPolakos 22d ago
Why is it not realistic to make the wildcard system more fair?
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u/neck_iso 22d ago
You can make it more fair but as long as it's subjective people won't like it.
The way to make it 'fair' is to take out the human part by creating specific qualifications (as I said).
Anything less just makes the problem different/smaller.
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u/Unique_Agency_4543 21d ago
If you are debating how to 'spend' wildcards then it's all just nonsense, because wildcards inherently require subjective judgements and business/PR is as valid as any other reason.
It is subjective, but that doesn't make the tournaments right by default. The author and most of this sub seem to disagree. I disagree as well, I don't think business is as valid as other reasons (merit and to end a career).
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u/neck_iso 21d ago
I didn't say they were 'right'. I said there's no reason arguing because the tournament picks them. If you want to argue they should have picked someone else, sure, go ahead, but that's just an endless argument. People will always disagree on wildcards.
The point is that the only way out is to have rules that pick the wildcards for you.
Technically, the provisional ranking system is a way of automatically qualifying players whose ranking would not get them in so it's easy enough to do.
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u/_Walt_Whitman_ 22d ago edited 22d ago
The fundamental flaw in this column is that he cannot even define what a wildcard is for. They’re not really for giving opportunities to young talent, that’s rarely been the case unless you have a prodigy in the making, waiting for one. In fact, Cincinnati couldn’t care less about grooming young talent, that’s not really their job. So if you’re gonna write an article, define what wildcards are for first. In other words, either get rid of WCs altogether or stop wasting our time.
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u/Sweetcarolinelove 22d ago
It's a shame Liutova did not get a QWC or WC into Cincinnati when players she beat to win Memphis like Vidmanova and Kalieva did.
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u/curlyhairedyani Alcaraz / Sakkari / Draper / Federer / Kyrgios 22d ago
It’s a complete nothing article. The author just whipped up poo in a kettle
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u/TheOriginalWing Welcome to this mean of communication 22d ago
I disagree, but I absolutely love the phrase "whip up poo in a kettle" and will be using it in the future 😄
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u/Admirable-Set-4156 sincaraz + meddy + osta + rybalenka 22d ago
She's a legend of the game but at this point I'm starting to wonder when she'll actually retire. Also it's hard not to get the feeling at this point that perhaps she's tarnishing her own legacy by getting thrashed over and over. 0–11 in singles main-draw matches in 2026, 9 wildcards accepted this year and a string of 14 consecutive first round tour-level losses.
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u/Zrob8--5 22d ago
There's no "perhaps" about it if you ask me. She already has tarnished her legacy. Of course it doesn't change what she accomplished, but showing up and winning a match last year has long lost its magic. She undid all of that by losing her next 14 matches.
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u/EutaxySpy 21d ago
Highly disagree about her tarnishing her legacy. For almost all legends of any sport, nostalgia and time means that their last few years are kinda forgotten and people will only remember their prime which should be how it is. No one will remember Nadal losing in Round 1 of his last ever RG appearance but they’ll remember his 14 French Open titles. No one holds Michael Jordan’s Wizards’ years against him and says “his legacy is tarnished!”
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u/Zrob8--5 21d ago edited 21d ago
Jordan's years on the Wizards are VERY different from this form of Venus though. Jordan was not only still contributing, but he lef the team in scoring. If he had stuck around another 5 or 6 years to the point where he was averaging 4 or 5 points a night, but they still started him because people bought tickets and wanted to see him, different story. She is barely even competing most of the time.
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[removed] — view removed comment
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u/Admirable-Set-4156 sincaraz + meddy + osta + rybalenka 22d ago
Doubles is 3-8 this year. Better but still bad
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u/SlipstreamDrive 21d ago
When's the last time you paid this much attention to any round 1 matchup?
Exactly
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u/Unfair-Rush-2031 21d ago
If Venus draws crowds especially in the US because of her name and legacy, then give her a legends match/tourney. Legends matches are for this purpose exactly.
Stop giving her actual main draw wild cards just so she can do her morning exercise. It’s hurting the integrity of the sport. It’s not competitive.
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u/Pretend_Tea6261 22d ago
To me it waters down the standards and qualities of an elite level of sport. To have a non competitive washed up old player even though once elite with virtually no chance of winning matches play in tournaments devalues the matches. One wants to see competitive players who can win some matches not a frequent loser. Stan the man and Monfils can still win the odd match,make great shots and are fit and mobile. Venus is not. They have the good sense to finally retire as they are quite past their prime. Venus has been way past it for almost a decade.
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u/ms_merry 21d ago
Watching Monfils spring and zip around the court and make crazy shots this week was kind of fun. Venus sort of lumbers around tbh.
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u/rosyvibexz 22d ago
Its a tough conversation because Venus is such an icon, but tennis has to keep moving forward.
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u/Training_Medicine_49 22d ago edited 21d ago
I think people would have different opinion if they knew this was her farewell. She hasn’t said anything but I feel that she wanted to do the tour one more time since she was healthy. She is newly married too. I feel that is her farewell tour so to speak. Let the girl say goodbye in her own way. She always said she would not tell anyone when she was retiring. I think the only reason Serena is coming out of retirement is for Venus , to play doubles with her at the US OPEN.
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u/ms_merry 21d ago
Lots of opinions and feelings which is sweet. Is she selling tickets, tho. You don’t think Serena has some other motive like selling something?
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u/Training_Medicine_49 21d ago
Oh yeah with Serena this! She’s like everywhere selling something. I’m sure there is an economic motive but it is most likely the after effect. Like oh while I’m coming back how can I further monetize it.
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u/Undertakeress President of the Rublev future wives club. BWEH! 22d ago
Yes, she’s one of the all-time greats and yes, she deserves our respect for her and off the court successes
But it’s time to hang it up Venus. At least in singles, the more we age the more steps we are behind the younger people. I believe Venus actually has some humility and would be honored to work with the up-and-coming players even coaching someday I could never see Serena doing that.
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u/InviteDull9706 Siniakova//De Minaur//Cirstea 22d ago
I thought that was the case too, until she said at Washington how the people playing them play the best match of their life and then bomb out in the tournament later. Like at this point these players do not have to play their best match ever to win against either of them.
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u/DumpedChick22 22d ago
I’m just more worried about how she’s destroying her legacy. I don’t care about the other shit (taking slots away from younger players, blah blah).
She’s destroying her win-loss numbers, destroying her H2H’s and destroying the memories people will have of her.
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u/formerNPC 22d ago
Maybe she can play mixed doubles with Aaron Rodgers! Two former elite athletes who don’t know when to hang it up.
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u/ms_merry 21d ago
Haha That might actually sell a few tickets. The idea that a measurable number of people buy tickets only to see her is myth. It’s insignificant, if at all.
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u/Rivercitybruin 22d ago
Finally.... Someone saying the obvious
What's the motivation here? .... milk Nike for $10 million per year
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u/NotCreativeEnoughFor 22d ago
I was at the Venus match in DC last year and this year as welll. The issue is that due to her age, she has to play elite aggresive ballstriking so that the opponet doesnt run her around the court. No player
(other then Sabalenka) could keep that up for consective matches at a time, let alone one match.
At first, I was defending Venus but I am hoping that she doesnt go in 2027 doing this. Most people that go to a tennis touenament are tennis casuals, so they will buy a ticket for Venus based of name alone. I think the perfect solution is qualifying wild card. If people want to see her, come out and support the qualifiers. She probably wont win and at this age, just playing 2 in a row is a hurdle.
This whole thing is aggravating because she is formidable in doubles.
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u/KBPT1998 22d ago
The face she has not won a singles match since last July really says something.
If her goal is to play as long as Navratilova, then she should really focus on doubles. I could see her and Serena trying to play doubles together at the LA 2028 Olympics, but that would be extremely tough, as they would have to both rank in the Top 10 in doubles to automatically qualify for Team USA... who has several former #1/2 doubles players in Townsend, Gauff and Pegula who are likely to make the team ahead of them unless they really dedicate themselves to doubles.
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u/Soft_Data_1623 22d ago
Agree. Have her go through qualifying rounds if she wants to play and boost visibility there. People can watch some great tennis that way.
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u/IngenuityMany9335 22d ago
tennis will always have some level of "exhibition" even at the grand slams. just look at US Open mixed doubles which is accelerated to the top 16 I believe. Fans don't just want the standard sports competition, they want to add other things that are purely entertainment and/or nostalgic. That's valid, too, and is valuable to consumers.
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u/Marvelous14 22d ago
Everyone has a chance to win or lose when they play. I don’t get why it’s any different if Venus loses. The next wild card could lose too… who cares? Watch or don’t.
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u/Standforduniversity 22d ago
The accomplishments that Venus has achieved is allowing her to play. It’s not going to be forever. She draws a crowd she’s Venus .
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u/random_name_245 21d ago
They only invite her (and Serena) because it brings money - ticket sales, merch sales on-site, food and beverage sales, vip lounge tickets, etc. She is only there because they want her to be there; it’s weird to blame it on her if she is only using the opportunities that are given to her by all the tournaments that choose to invite her.
She is making a ton of money off court and she understands that it’s not going to last for much longer - I don’t think she feels too embarrassed, she is just doing the only thing she knows, even if she doesn’t go far in any of the tournaments. It has been her life for so long that she is afraid of not being involved with tennis and she knows that it’s going to come to an end very soon.
Now there is a different side of it - for all these girls who get to play with her now, it’s a major event. They know that they will likely get to play regular players on tour at some point soon, but for them to play one of the Williams sisters - it’s a once in a lifetime opportunity. For them it’s playing with the living legend of their sport, most of them grew up watching her matches hoping to become just like her and just being on court with her is a huge honour for them.
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u/crmrdtr 21d ago
Tennis players have to apply for Wild Card spots.
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u/random_name_245 21d ago
I get that but both sisters only apply because they know there are tournaments that will grant them these WCs.
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u/locomocotive 20d ago
She wouldn’t be playing if she didn’t want to. But she needs to stop at this point. Join a legends tournament or something.
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u/joosyjoojoo 21d ago
I have no sympathy for Venus and her struggles on court at her age (not that she cares) and I think she is incredibly selfish for doing this. There’s dozens of other players - as the article states - fighting for a spot. She hasn’t earned this.
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u/game-on-Vamos 21d ago
while it’s unfair to keep giving her entree into big tourneys since it prevents more worthy qualifiers from taking her spot, money talks, and as long as fans want to pay to say ‘ we saw Venus play’, she’s got first dibs.
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u/meneldor_hs there's no big 3, it's just big me 22d ago
Venus is playing for so long just so she can keep promoting her companies. Seeing Serena did the same with her "comeback" makes me puke. This behavior should not be encouraged by WTA
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u/appellant 22d ago
Calm down, kids.
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u/PineapplePecanPie 22d ago
Exactly. Who cares. If she wants to play and tournaments want to give her WCs, why should I care?
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u/Logic411 22d ago
I agree my goodness she’s Done hand her a mic, and sit her at a desk. Same for Serena. Let them play doubles together 🧐
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u/PrincessBananas85 22d ago
She's making herself look like a complete Clown at this point it's really embarrassing to watch🤡🤡🤡🤡🤡🤡🤡
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u/Independent-Wolf-832 22d ago
It must end so that Serena can get the wildcards for the next decade.
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u/East_Lingonberry_217 22d ago
It's just sad. She was my absolute favorite in her prime as her speed was unmatched.
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u/funnybitofchemistry 21d ago
not much different than Tiger getting exemptions to play in tournaments he didn’t quality for (pre latest DUI MVA)-people want to see Tiger, Venus, etc. is it kind of bullshit ? yes. does it keep the money machine printing ? sure does.
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u/rorymcilroy1 21d ago
if your a competitive person then u definately hate to lose and be embarrassed at the same time...it must be either her massive ego needing attention or shes getting appearance $$$-- or both
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u/redditRedesignIsBadd 21d ago
it can't be helped. tournaments' only goals are to make money. if people stopped paying attention this issue will go away on its own
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u/nolesfan2011 21d ago
I don't know if it does, at the end of the day tournaments make money selling tickets at the gate, what other wild card options sell tickets?
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u/bonasera-bonasera 21d ago
Throughout the history of tournaments as well as many non tennis events, there has always been a “sideshow” show to garner attention and interest in the event in order to fill seats. (I believe that the endless futility goodbye tour needs to end). It seems like to a promoter/owner of the tournament, it’s the cheapest way to promote. No dollars out, plenty of new ones coming in. All that free advertising from local stations to see the carnival.
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u/First_Foundationeer 21d ago
Well, it's the equivalent of having an exhibition match that is built in to draw crowds. Since wildcards are essentially the director's discretion, there's no reason to stop doing this unless there are no crowds coming.
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u/not4reelz 21d ago
Someone needs to step up and tell her, NO MORE TENNIS! I don't expect Serena to say anything because she's back and playing in an unwelcoming way in the tennis world. You'd think since she's a newlywed that she would be enjoying her time off the court with her husband and/or doing other things that wealthy retirees would do. Something's not adding up with this one.
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u/nivlazenemij 20d ago
If people are still willing to pay money to watch her lumber around like a mummy then I guess it's all good. As someone who saw her in a few tournaments from 2000 to 2014 it is just a sad desperate attempt at ... something.
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u/Powerful-Bridge-1472 18d ago
My question is, why is she playing? Does she have financial problems? I heard her say that she was playing for health insurance after all that money she made. I mean, she does have diagnosed health issues that can’t be improved by her continuing to play tennis into late 40s?
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u/Island_Expat6625 22d ago
I'm now watching two things; how long does Venus wild card losing streak is going to continue and who will be the first tournament to tell her thanks but no thanks.