Venus Williams has her eyes on a possible return to the French Open. The 45-year-old former world No. 1 said on Tuesday, after dropping her 10th consecutive singles match, that she is thinking about competing at Roland Garros next month.
“Yeah, I mean, to get my feet dirty, this was a great start,” Williams said during her post-match press conference at the Madrid Open. “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.”
The seven-time Grand Slam champion was defeated 6-2, 6-4 by 20-year-old Spaniard Kaitlin Quevedo. Williams had not competed in Madrid in five years, and her previous clay-court appearance came at the 2021 French Open, where she exited in the first round against Ekaterina Alexandrova.
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“All these things take adjustments,” Williams said. “I started my practice on clay a couple weeks after Miami. I haven't really played on clay in years. But I enjoy the clay, it's fun. I played against a very inspired opponent today.”
Her last tour victory came against Peyton Stearns in the round of 16 at a WTA 500 event in Washington in July 2025. So far this season, Williams has suffered early exits in Auckland, Hobart, the Australian Open, Austin, Indian Wells, and Miami.
Meanwhile, Quevedo secured her first main-draw win at a WTA 1000 event and just the second tour-level victory of her career. She also became the youngest Spanish player to win a main-draw match at the Madrid Open.
“I was so surprised,” Quevedo said. “I didn't know that was going to happen. I'm just really happy that I was able to play against such a legend on this amazing court for the first time. It was a privilege, and I'm just really happy to be here.”
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