Venus Williams seemingly confirmed that she wouldn’t be returning to the courts this year during a Q&A session on Instagram.
This year has been tough for Williams, who, in fairness, is slowly getting to that age where retirement might seem like the better option than playing. She’s been adamant, though, that it won’t happen unless she wants it to happen.
So far, it doesn’t seem like it’s likely to happen because even after this season, Williams is adamant that she will be playing tennis next year. To put into perspective what kind of year she had, it's important to mention that she lost all of the singles matches she contested this year so far.
Admittedly, it was only four matches, but still, it’s not a good mark for a player who earned at least one win each season from 1994 until last year.
This might be the first time in many years that she won't win a single singles match. However, she succeeded in mixed doubles with Jamie Murray getting her only victory of this season.
Her winless season in singles now seems almost confirmed because, during a Q&A session on Instagram, Williams said that she wouldn’t be playing anymore in 2024. She did, however, confirm that she will be back next year and that people should watch out because she will bring a good level. It’s very optimistic, but that’s the hallmark of Venus Williams.
"No plans for this year. But watch out for next year. Work on my game. Spend time with the family. Time with my teams. And time at home. It's been a while."
Another question that she was asked was whether she would continue playing doubles, to which she responded that after her sister Serena retired, it seemed likely that she wouldn’t be playing doubles either.
"I think I'm retired from doubles now!" Time will tell whether that’s true though."