“Wildcard at this juncture is a joke,” Venus Williams’ Indian Wells wildcard entry suffers criticism from tennis commentator

The former World No. 1 will return to the Californian desert for the first time since 2019 but her wildcard has sparked a controversy.

“Wildcard at this juncture is a joke,” Venus Williams’ Indian Wells wildcard entry suffers criticism from tennis commentator

Venus Williams (via IMAGO)

Former World No. 1 Venus Williams has come under the firing line of famous tennis analyst Craig Shapiro. The reason is the wildcard offered to the 43-year-old for the upcoming 2024 Indian Wells Open.

Williams is yet to play this season owing to her injury struggles. She last played in the 2023 US Open where she ate two breadsticks in the first round against Greet Minnen. Ranked 410th back then, she was handed a wildcard at her home Slam but could not make much use of it.

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The Olympian has hardly been involved in the Tour post-2019. She has played a total of 35 matches since the start of the 2020 season. In 2022, she played just four matches and remained winless in each of them. Each of her appearances was possible because of a wildcard given to her.

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The same was the case in 2023 as well. Although she played 10 matches, all of her tournament appearances were due to a wildcard handed to her which included the US Open and Wimbledon. Many have found this to be unfair towards the young players who are eager for a chance to reach the main draw.

With Williams highly inactive on the Tour, her eligibility for a wildcard is always credited to her historic records. Ranked 480th on the Tour currently, she has once again received a wildcard for this year’s Indian Wells Open. The WTA-1000 event will be the season debut for the five-time Wimbledon champ.

Shapiro recently hosted a ‘Q&A’ on his Instagram stories wherein he was questioned about the manner of Williams’ entry for Indian Wells. The commentator didn’t hold back and gave a blunt answer where he did show respect for Venus and Serena Williams but felt the wildcard for the former was unjust. 

I have a reverence for Venus and her sister but I think the wildcard at this juncture is a joke.
Answered Shapiro.

Venus Williams will make just her 10th appearance at Indian Wells having boycotted the event for 15 years

Despite the noise around her wildcard, the seven-time Grand Slam title winner will be in the main-draw unless an injury pulls her back. The American icon will however make just her 10th tournament appearance and her first since 2019.

Craig Shapiro's comment on Venus Williams
Craig Shapiro’s comment on Venus Williams (Image Credit: (L) Shapiro’s Instagram story, (R) Open Source)

She made her tournament debut in 1996 reaching the main draw from the qualifiers. Venus returned to the competition in 1997 and 1998 but missed the next two editions due to injuries. She played in 2001 but had to give a walkover to Serena in the semis due to an injury.

With their father Richard Williams often accused of fixing the results between the matches of his daughters, similar allegations were made then. While Serena went on to win the title, the entire Williams family was booed at the tournament. Racist remarks were also made toward Richard as per the family.

As a result, both sisters refused to turn up for the competition for more than a decade. The tournament director had initially refused to issue an apology further infuriating the Williams sisters. Despite the Tour making it a compulsory event, neither of the sisters participated.

Serena ended her boycott in 2015 after 14 years of absence. Venus followed suit in 2016 after 15 years of skipping the event. While the elder sis is yet to reach the finals at the tournament, Serena reached the final in 2016 but failed to win the title. Her two titles in 1999 and 2001 remain her only wins at the event.

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