Former world No. 1 Venus Williams will not play in the upcoming BNP Paribas Open.
The tournament announced in a news release Wednesday that the 44-year-old Williams was given a wild card for entry and would play in the 1000-level event, which begins March 2 in Indian Wells, California. It was slated to be her first WTA tournament in nearly a year.
But Williams, during an event in Denmark, told the crowd at Arena Næstved for "An Evening with Venus Williams" that it "wasn't true" when asked about it Sunday.
"No, I'm not playing," Williams said. "Actually, I found the announcement super amusing because, I don't know, people seem to be happy, so I was like, 'Maybe I'll just go with it, I don't know.' I'm actually not going. I'm going to be overseas. I'm not going to be [there]. ... I just had a player text me today too, like, 'Can you play doubles?' [But] I'm not playing.
"I found out about the wild card when you guys did. Just saying. And I love Indian Wells, I would love to be there and if I could have accepted it, I would have been like, 'Yes.' But I already made commitments."
On the tournament's website Sunday, Williams remained on the player list as a wild card. But later, on the event's social media feed, a statement from tournament director Tommy Haas was posted, confirming that "our team has been informed that Venus is not accepting the wild card this year. We wish Venus all the best and hope to see her back in Indian Wells in the future."
Williams, a seven-time major singles champion and the winner of 49 WTA singles trophies, has not played since the Miami Open last March and has played sparingly over the past few seasons, sparking longtime speculation about her future in the sport and raising questions about whether she had privately retired.
She competed in just two events in 2024 -- losing in the first round at Indian Wells and Miami -- and won three matches in seven tournaments in 2023. She is ranked No. 974 in the world.
