Venus Williams Casts Doubts on Playing Further Tournaments in 2025 After US Open Exit

Venus Williams crashed out of the US Open after losing to World No.13 Karolina Muchova in three sets.

Venus Williams Casts Doubts on Playing Further Tournaments in 2025 After US Open Exit

Venus Williams (via X/Jose Morgado)

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Venus Williams has revealed that she might not be featuring in any other tournament this season after crashing out of the 2025 US Open. The former World No.1 fell to World No.13 and 2024 US Open semifinalist Karolina Muchova in three sets in the opening round of the Grand Slam event in New York.

Williams received a wildcard by the organizers of the tournament and despite widespread criticism, she was defended by American legend Andy Roddick. The 45-year-old, who made her Grand Slam debut at the 1997 French Open, made her 25th appearance at the US Open, just weeks after becoming active on tour.

She wasn’t at her best level in the first set against Muchova, who looked in good touch. The American only won two of the opening 13 points and that subdued the atmosphere at the Arthur Ashe Stadium as the match was looking to end in straight sets. But a roar of encouragement came from the crowd when she won her first game.

It was in the second set that she gave a gallant performance that made the crowd applaud her. She hit 10 winners and only 5 unforced errors to win the set 6-2. But in the deciding set, Muchova increased the tempo of her game to win the match 6-3, 2-6, 6-1 and earn her place in the second round of the US Open.

Williams received a resounding ovation from the crowd as she walked out of the court. She revealed during her press conference that she wasn’t going to play in any other tournament this year as she wouldn’t be able to travel outside the USA for any WTA event:

Are there any more tournaments in the United States until the end of the season? Can anyone move a tournament here? I’m not sure I’m willing to travel so far to play at this stage of my career. I love to compete, my level of play has improved a lot since Washington, I worked hard to shake off the success I had on me, but at the end of the day, there’s much more to achieve than to win three or four matches. If I lost today, it was due to bad decisions at certain moments.

Williams made her debut at the US Open in 1997 and went on to reach the final before losing to Martina Hingis. She had to wait until 2000 to win her first US Open, and then she defended the title in 2001 after beating her sister Serena Williams in straight sets. Also, she won her first Olympic singles gold that year (2000) in Sydney.

Venus Williams opens up on the sacrifices she had to make to be at the US Open

Venus Williams was officially considered an inactive player in June after going a whole year without competing. But, she stunned the tennis world by returning to the tour at the Washington Open, winning her opening match against fellow compatriot Peyton Stearns before receiving a wildcard for the Cincinnati Open.

Venus Williams (via X/Jose Morgado)
Venus Williams (via X/Jose Morgado)

Despite just winning one match in over a year and a half, she still put in a good performance in her first-round tie against Karolina Muchova at the US Open. She opened up during the aforementioned press conference on her efforts to get to her best level ahead of the hard-court major event in New York:

My team and I worked as hard as we could. We took no days off. I haven’t gone to dinner or seen friends. I haven’t done anything except train for 3 months. From each match that I didn’t win, I tried to go back and learn from that and then get better.

Williams is currently ranked World No.582 in the WTA rankings and has won just one of her last four matches on tour. It still remains a big surprise that she could play into her 40s after withdrawing from the 2011 US Open after being diagnosed with Sjogren’s, an autoimmune disease that causes fatigue and joint pain.

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