Having been handed a wildcard by the tournament organisers, Venus Williams will once again be competing in the women's singles at Wimbledon in 2023.

The American, who is now 43 years old, only featured in the mixed-doubles in 2022 but the seven-time Grand Slam singles winner will be back amongst the world's best players at SW19.

Williams is 11th on the all-time Wimbledon women's singles list, with five titles to her name, as well as six doubles victories.

Four decades at Wimbledon

Williams made her Wimbledon debut way back in 1997, stepping out as a 17-year-old with minimal grass-court experience.

The 6ft 1in right-hander won her opening set against Magdalena Grzybowska, but the Pole fought back to eventually win the first-round clash 4-6, 6-2, 6-4.

That battling display from the teenager was a sign of what was to follow, with Venus lifting the Rosewater Dish silver salver three years later.

The American's first Wimbledon title came in 2000 when the elder Williams sister was seeded number five.

Having beaten Martina Hingis in the quarter-finals and then her younger sibling Serena in the semis, Venus collected her first Grand Slam title with a victory over the defending champion, Lindsay Davenport, in the final.

Now, 23 years later, she is preparing to compete in the singles for the 24th time as she looks to add to the 90 matches she has won to date at SW19.

Williams' sibling rivalry

Venus went on to defend her title in 2001 when she beat Justin Henin in the final, but she was stopped from making it three in a row by her sister, Serena.

The younger Williams sister won their 2002 Centre Court final showdown in straight sets, before again taking the spoils in the all-Williams 2003 final.

Venus - 300/1 to win this year's Wimbledon singles title - eventually claimed her third Wimbledon title in 2005, in an epic final against fellow US star Davenport.

It took two hours and 45 minutes to find a winner - the longest women's Wimbledon singles final - with Williams eventually taking the third set 9-7.

After a surprise third-round defeat to Jelena Jankovic in 2006, Venus once again lifted the silver salver in 2007 after beating Marion Bartoli in the final.

That victory saw Williams become the lowest-seeded women's Wimbledon winner, with the 23rd seed dropping just two sets en route to the title.

For the one and only time, Venus beat her sister in the 2008 Wimbledon final - winning 7-5, 6-4 to claim her fifth women's singles title at SW19.

Venus still a dangerous opponent

Despite reaching the 2009 final, when she again lost to her sister, Venus has been unable to add to her five singles titles at the All-England Club.

But in her last seven appearances since 2014, the older Williams sister has only suffered a first-round defeat on one occasion, going down to Coco Goff in 2019.

She even reached the final as a 37-year-old in 2017, beating Britain's Johanna Konta in the semi-final before losing in straight sets to Garbine Muguruza.

Despite being sidelined for long periods since suffering a hamstring injury back in January, she has shown some positive signs on her return.

Venus beat top-50 player Camila Giorgi - 66/1 to win the Wimbledon title in 2023 - in June's Rothesay Classic in Birmingham and there will be several big names wanting to avoid the former champion in the draw.

bet365 News Team

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