Venus Williams has returned sporadically to the WTA Tour in recent years, but she has failed to find the form that brought her Grand Slam glory in her pomp.
The American icon is currently on a 15-match streak without a victory, dating back to her win against Peyton Stearns at the 2025 Washington Open.
Williams, who has also been playing doubles alongside sister Serena Williams, has lost against the likes of Karolina Muchova, Olga Danilovic, and Sofia Kenin at the Grand Slams in the past year.
That has not stopped the American from continuing her recent tennis run, however, and she’s signed up to a WTA 250 event for the first time in her career.
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Williams is set to play the 2026 Guangzhou Open, which is set to begin on October 26th.
She is the first player to confirm for the WTA 250 tournament, but it will likely provide Williams with an excellent opportunity of gaining her first singles win for over a year.
Last year’s event saw none of the WTA Tour top 20 involved, with the highest seeds being Jéssica Bouzas Maneiro, Alexandra Eala, Tatjana Maria, and eventual champion Ann Li.
If that was the case for the 2026 event, then Williams would likely play quite a low ranked player in her opening round match at the tournament.
She will likely not get a better chance of ending her losing streak, although it is not clear whether this is the reason she has opted to play the 250 tournament.
Williams will be performing double duty at the event too, as she has also been given a wildcard to enter the doubles draw of the WTA 250 tournament.
She will play alongside current world No. 48 Janice Tjen in the doubles of the event, with the pair set to make their debut at the Chinese tournament.
Although Williams is yet to team with Tjen, she has played two tournaments alongside Eala, who is a long time friend of Tjen’s, so perhaps that is the reason they have come together for the tournament.
Williams has not played an Asian tournament since 2019, when she played the Wuhan Open, the China Open, and the Tianjin Open. She picked up one win and three defeats during her stint seven years ago, with her sole victory coming against Barbora Strycova in Beijing.
The star has already played 12 tournaments so far in the 2026 season, with the Guangzhou Open becoming the 13th. Will it continue to be unlucky for the seven-time singles Grand Slam champion?
