After much speculation, Venus Williams' return to tennis in the mixed doubles at the 2022 Wimbledon Championships has been confirmed, and she will play alongside a local favorite in London.
Tennis fans have not seen the 42-year-old in action since the Chicago Women's Open last August. She lost in the opening round to Hsieh Wei, and many feared that could be her final match as a professional.
There was a gap in women's tennis during that period since Venus' younger sister, Serena Williams, was also sidelined after sustaining a long-term leg injury in her opening-round match at Wimbledon last year.
After ten months without either of the Williams sisters competing on the WTA Tour, Serena returned to tennis at the Eastbourne International by playing doubles alongside Ons Jabeur. The pair reached the semifinals.
Many fans of Venus gave up hope of seeing her at Wimbledon when she was not in the women's singles or doubles draw. However, the mixed doubles draw had not been made yet, and it has now been confirmed that she will compete in London.
Williams is set to team up with Jamie Murray. The older brother of Andy Murray won the mixed doubles at his home Grand Slam on two occasions in 2007 and 2017, meaning he and Venus could be a formidable pair.
Interestingly, it will not be the first time the names Murray and Williams appear together in the Wimbledon mixed doubles draw. Andy and Serena played together at the 2019 Wimbledon Championships, reaching the round of 16.
It is currently unknown whether Venus will ever return to professional singles action. For now, this news alone is enough to cause excitement in the tennis world. Hopefully, her partnership with Jamie Murray can live up to the hype and bring exciting tennis for the fans to enjoy.