Venus Williams is set to return to Roland Garros later this month in the women’s doubles draw with 24-year-old Hailey Baptiste. The duo will play in the main draw without having to qualify for the French Open, which kicks off on May 24.
This year, Williams, aged 45, has been cautious with her participation, attending her first clay event after a five-year gap at Madrid Open before missing the Italian Open as she was one of the co-chairs of the Met Gala. Williams will be returning to the French Open main draw for the first time since 2021 when Venus and Coco Gauff were knocked out in the first round.
“Yeah, I mean, to get my feet dirty, this was a great start. I’m not able to play Rome, I have other commitments, unfortunately, so I’m really super sad about that, actually. My husband is Italian, so we feel sad that we can’t be there. So we would love to keep it going on the clay,” she said after a recent participation.
This is not merely a feel-good gesture from Williams. Baptiste has been in excellent form lately on clay courts as she managed to defeat World No. 1 player Aryna Sabalenka in the semifinal of Madrid Open before reaching the third round in Rome.
With all the experience that Williams possesses, winning this match will be a breeze for her. Williams has twice won the doubles crown at Roland Garros, which came in 1999 and 2010 while playing alongside her sister Serena who has together won 14 Grand Slams in doubles.
On the singles front, Williams will not get a wildcard despite being awarded one for the Australian Open, Miami Open, and Madrid tournaments earlier this year. She may still enter in the latter stages of the singles tournament or get a wildcard in mixed doubles. In the absence of either scenario, Williams is likely to commentate on the tournament on TNT Sports from the quarter-finals stage onwards.
