Venus Williams has decided to end her long break by participating in the mixed doubles event of Wimbledon. She will play with Jamie Murray for the prestigious title. Interestingly, Jamie is the elder brother of former world number one Andy Murray.
All this while, Venus had maintained that she would not be taking part in Wimbledon this year. However, she said she would come to the All England Club to support her sister Serena who was also returning after a one-year break.
Teamwork makes the dream work 👊@Venuseswilliams returns to #Wimbledon in mixed doubles with @jamie_murray 🌱
— wta (@WTA) June 29, 2022
It looks like she was keeping her return under wraps all this while. The draw for the mixed doubles came out and it was a surprise to see Venus’ name in it. Venus and Jamie got into the main draw through wildcard entry. The pair will face Alicja Rosolska and Michael Venus in the first round.
Venus has been on a break ever since last August. She last played singles at the Chicago Open. With Venus returning to the court, both sisters have officially returned to action at the Wimbledon. Unfortunately, Serena crashed out in the first round after playing a hard-fought match against France’s Harmony Tan.
How has Venus Williams fared in mixed doubles in the past
This is not the first time Venus is playing mixed doubles. Last year, she paired with Nick Kyrgios at the Wimbledon. Unfortunately, the duo had to pull out after Kyrgios suffered from an injury.
Coming soon… 🍿@Venuseswilliams x @jamie_murray #Wimbledon pic.twitter.com/y5ux1odtKZ
— Wimbledon (@Wimbledon) June 29, 2022
She has won two grand slams in mixed doubles. She has won an Australian Open and a French Open. Both the grand slams were won in the year 1998. In the recent past, Venus paired with Rajeev Ram for Rio Olympics 2016 and won the silver medal.
On the other hand, Jamie is also a champion in his own right. He has won the Wimbledon mixed doubles title twice. One came with Jelena Jankovic in 2007 and the second one was with Martina Hingis in 2017.