1980–present
Latest News: Venus Williams Continues Comeback at U.S. Open
Grand Slam champion Venus Williams is continuing her tennis comeback at the 2025 U.S. Open, albeit with disappointing results so far.
The 45-year-old made her first appearance at a major tournament in two years, competing with Reilly Opelka in mixed doubles at the USTA Billie Jean King National Tennis Center in New York City. The duo lost their first-round match 4-2, 5-4 against Andrey Rublev and Karolína Muchová on August 20.
However, Williams will be back on the court in Flushing Meadows for women’s singles play, which begins Sunday, August 24, at 11 a.m. She received a wild-card entry for the main draw, where she will be a fan favorite as she pursues her eighth career Grand Slam title.
Williams, who is currently ranked No. 580, returned to the women’s professional tour for the DC Open in July 2025 after a 16-month hiatus. She won a match in both singles and doubles. During her time off, the tennis player underwent surgery to treat uterine fibroids that had caused her severe discomfort for years.
Who Is Venus Williams?
Venus Williams learned to play tennis on the public courts of Los Angeles before turning professional in 1994 at age 14. Throughout her career, she has won seven Grand Slam singles titles and a total of five Olympic medals, some alongside her sister Serena Williams. In 2007, Venus became the first female Wimbledon singles champion to receive equal pay as the men’s victor. The tennis star, who was diagnosed with an autoimmune disease in 2011, has continued playing into her 40s, even after taking an extended break from the sport spanning late 2023 through mid-2025.
Quick Facts
FULL NAME: Venus Ebony Starr Williams
BORN: June 17, 1980
BIRTHPLACE: Lynwood, California
NOTABLE FAMILY: Serena Williams (Sister)
ASTROLOGICAL SIGN: Gemini
HEIGHT: 6 ft. 1 in.
Early Life and Family
Venus Ebony Starr Williams was born on June 17, 1980, in Lynwood, California, to Richard and Oracene Williams.
Venus was introduced to tennis by her father on the public courts in Los Angeles, not far from the family’s home in Compton. A former sharecropper from Louisiana, Richard Williams used what he’d gleaned from books and videos to instruct Venus and her younger sister Serena on the game. Some of their elder half-sisters—Yetunde, Lyndrea, and Isha—even pitched in by feeding and retrieving balls on the court.
It was clear the Williams sisters had what it took to compete at a high level. Over the course of their junior and professional tennis careers, Venus and Serena helped redefine women’s tennis with their strength and superb athleticism.
Tennis Career: Grand Slams and Olympic Medals
Williams’s potential was obvious by age 10, when her serve topped 100 miles per hour. She used her power to go 63-0 on the United States Tennis Association junior tour.
Williams turned pro on October 31, 1994, at age 14. The teenager proved she was more than ready when, in her first match, she beat No. 58-ranked Shaun Stafford at the Bank of the West Classic in California. It was a momentous occasion for the Williams family. Her father, in particular, wasn’t afraid to let the tennis world know his girls were going to change the game. “That’s one for the ghetto!” Richard shouted out at the news conference following Williams’s victory.
Grand Slam Championships
Williams has captured seven Grand Slam singles titles—including five Wimbledon championships—and 14 more in doubles play with her sister Serena Williams as of August 2025.
In 1997, Venus became the first unseeded U.S. Open women’s finalist in the Open Era. She lost to Martina Hingis. In 2000, she won both Wimbledon and the U.S. Open, paving the way for her to ink a $40 million contract with Reebok. She then went out and defended her titles in 2001. Months later in February 2002, Venus rose to No. 1 in the world singles ranking for the first time in her career.
Venus competed in only a handful of tournaments in 2006 due to a lingering wrist injury, but she returned to form in 2007, winning the singles title at Wimbledon. Her victory was made all the more notable when she became the first woman to receive equal prize money as the Wimbledon’s men’s champion—a cause she had been publicly advocating for since 2005. Venus repeated her Wimbledon victory in 2008, when she defeated Serena for a fifth career Wimbledon championship.
In 2011, Venus was diagnosed with Sjogren’s syndrome, an autoimmune disease that left her easily fatigued and sore. She switched to a vegan diet and altered her training schedule to allow for more recovery days, a method that proved successful when she and Serena claimed their 13th Grand Slam doubles title at Wimbledon in 2012. That fall, Venus won her first WTA singles title in more than two years.
Venus demonstrated she could still overwhelm opponents by reaching the finals of the Rogers Cup and the Coupe Banque Nationale in 2014. In early 2015, she claimed her 46th career singles title by defeating top-seeded Caroline Wozniacki at the ASB Classic.
That summer, the veteran star advanced to the fourth round at Wimbledon, her strongest showing at the tournament since 2011, before losing to Serena on Centre Court. Venus then powered into the quarterfinals of the U.S. Open but again was unable to get past her sister in a tense three-set loss.
The following year at Wimbledon, 36-year-old Venus became the oldest women’s Grand Slam semifinalist since Martina Navratilova in 1994, before suffering a loss to Angelique Kerber. She then successfully teamed up with Serena to win the doubles title, their sixth together at Wimbledon.
Later Career and 2025 Comeback
VEnus opened 2017 with a run to the Australian Open final, her first final-round appearance since Wimbledon in 2009, before losing a hard-fought match to Serena. She then made another surprise surge to the Wimbledon final, where she was defeated by Garbiñe Muguruza, and later advanced to the semifinals of the U.S. Open. After falling just short of the prize at the WTA Finals, she finished the year ranked a lofty No. 5 in the world.
Venus was unable to carry that stellar form into 2018, however, as she was upset in the first round of both the Australian and French Opens. That summer, she lost to Serena in the third round of the U.S. Open, the earliest matchup between the sisters at a major tournament since the 1998 Australian Open.
At age 39, Venus was the oldest player to enter the 2019 Wimbledon field, and she subsequently lost her only match to the youngest competitor, then-15-year-old American Coco Gauff.
By the 2023 U.S. Open, Venus had gone 10 consecutive Grand Slam tournaments without getting past the second round. Shortly after losing in the first round, she took a 16-month hiatus from the professional tour. The tennis star later revealed she had surgery in 2024 to treat painful uterine fibroids.
Venus returned to the tour in July 2025. The 45-year-old won a match in singles and doubles play at the DC Open. After receiving a wild card entry, she is also competing at the U.S. Open.
Olympic Medals
The Williams sisters have credited each other for their success on the court, both as teammates and competitors. Together, the pair have squared off more than 20 times, including competing in the finals of eight Grand Slam tournaments.
Their bond is no more evident than with their Olympic appearances and victories. At the 2000 Summer Games in Sydney, Venus captured the gold medal in singles competition then took a second gold medal home after competing with Serena in the women’s doubles event. They repeated that doubles success at the 2008 Beijing Olympic Games and again at the 2012 Games in London.
In a shocking upset, Venus and Serena were bounced out of the first round of women’s doubles at the 2016 Rio Olympics by Czech duo Lucie Safarova and Barbora Strycova. The top-seeded sisters had entered the match with a perfect 15-0 Olympic record as a duo. Having also lost in the first round of singles play in Rio, Venus sought to salvage her Olympic experience with a late entry into the mixed doubles competition. However, her bid for a fifth overall Olympic gold medal fell short when fellow Americans Bethanie Mattek-Sands and Jack Sock upset Venus and her partner Rajeev Ram in the final.
Net Worth
Celebrity Net Worth estimates Williams’s total fortune around $95 million as of July 2025. According to the Women’s Tennis Association, Williams has earned more than $42.6 million in prize money during her career.
Off the court, Williams has earned additional money through varied business interests. She’s pursued art classes and earned a certificate in interior design. She launched her own interior design company, V*Starr Interiors, which works on residential projects throughout the country.
In 2007, Williams launched her own clothing line called EleVen. Previously, she collaborated with Wilsons Leather for a collection of women’s apparel.
In 2009, Venus and Serena Williams became the first Black women to buy shares of an NFL team when they joined the ownership group of the Miami Dolphins. The following year, Venus co-authored the New York Times bestseller Come To Win: Business Leaders, Artists, Doctors, and Other Visionaries on How Sports Can Help You Top Your Profession, in which she interviewed such successful individuals as Richard Branson and Condoleezza Rice about their early athletic experiences.
Come to Win: Business Leaders, Artists, Doctors, and Other Visionaries on How Sports Can Help You Top Your Profession by Venus Williams
The Williams sisters have also teamed up as podcast hosts. They are launching a new video show on the social media site X in August 2025. Elsewhere in media, Venus is producing a docuseries titled Behind the Racquet that examines mental health among tennis players. The project was in development as of August 2023 and has yet to be released.
Fiancé Andrea Preti
Williams is engaged to model and actor Andrea Preti. The pair began quietly dating in July 2024 and made only one public appearance together before Williams confirmed their status after a match at the 2025 DC Open tournament.
“Yes, my fiancé is here. He really encouraged me to keep playing,” she said during an on-court interview. “There were so many times where I just wanted to coast and kind of chill... He encouraged me to get through this, and it’s wonderful to be here. He’s never seen me play.”
Outside of tennis, Williams has also been active in a number of social causes, including working closely with UNESCO on promoting gender equality throughout the world.
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