Venus, 43, accepted a wild card into the Jasmine Open. Last year, the WTA 250 tournament in Monastir, Tunisia, was integrated into the tour for the first time, taking place on outdoor hard courts along the Mediterranean coast.
With a wild card, she entered the singles main draw directly with the most popular top seed Jabr in her hometown. They also received an invitation to the doubles draw and will play together for the first time.
Venus’ participation in the event marks a shift from previous comments about her future in doubles. Four months ago in early June, she reiterated her retirement from doubles tennis while answering fans’ questions on social media.
When asked about the chances of the sisters playing together again in a future tag team match, Venus replied on her Instagram Story: “When Serena retired, I retired from tag team.”
“When you have Serena Williams as your partner, you’ve seen mountaintop glory; you can’t get any higher! Sorry I don’t have better news.”
However, east of the Atlas Mountains, two decades after riding alongside Serena and enjoying such stunning success, she was climbing again with a new partner. The Jasmine Open will be her eighth tournament of the season in a year plagued by injuries.
After being eliminated early from the US Open this year, she left with regret. “I can definitely have more hopes for this year,” she told reporters after her first-round exit.
“Honestly, I’ve just been unlucky. I don’t think it’s because my body can’t hold up; it’s just bad luck with injuries. There are some things I can’t control,” Venus admitted.
The veteran also spoke about her motivations and whether overcoming these obstacles will keep her going. “I don’t know if I think about it every day. I mean, I try to put in the time that I can. Yeah, the faith is always there. I don’t know. I don’t necessarily think about it every day – to date as a basis.