Venus Williams lost her 14th consecutive singles match on the WTA Tour as she was beaten by Colombian Emilia Arango at the Cincinnati Open, sparking fresh questions over whether she should still be getting a wild card into elite events.
Williams’ latest defeat came in comprehensive fashion, as she was beaten 6-2, 6-2 by a player ranked at No 95 in the world who had only won six matches on the main WTA Tour in 2026.
While 46-year-old will forever be etched into the tennis record books as one of the all-time greats and a true game changer for the sport along with her sister Venus, her record in singles matches over the last couple of years makes it hard to justify the ongoing decisions from big tournaments to hand her wild cards.
Williams has now lost every singles match she has played in 2026 and she has only won three sets in those eight matches.
Her last win came against Peyton Stearns in Washington last year and while her slide in fortunes is entirely understandable given her age, the seven-time Grand Slam singles winner has not been in a major final since a fine run at Wimbledon nine years ago and she has not won a title on the WTA Tour since lifting the Taiwan Open in February 2016.
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When asked why she continued to ask for wild cards into singles events, Williams insisted she had no qualms about losing matches and just enjoyed competing.
“I feel great. If there’s the one thing I know, it’s that you’re never too young or too old to win or to lose. Winning and losing knows no age,” she said.
“The only way to go forward is growth. There’s always so much to learn, and there’s always still much to learn about myself, new hurdles to get over.
“I think that sport just keeps you honest, keeps you humble, because every single day is a new battle. I think it keeps you hungry, too, so all of that.
“Of course losing isn’t fun, but it’s great to play in front of a home crowd. They were behind me the whole way, and that was really fun for that.”
Having the Williams name on the draw sheet may be attractive for tournament organisers, but questions need to be asked whether her enduring presence is blocking the path for a young player who may be able to develop their game in the heat of competition.
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Williams is essentially earning wild cards on the back of her status as one of the game’s greats, but she needs to show she still has something to offer on the court to justify her continuing presence on court.
She will play with her sister Serena at the upcoming US Open and that will be a moment all tennis fans will want to see, but those of us who cherish the legacy and legend of the two most famous sisters in tennis history are not enjoying seeing Venus being play lower ranked players when she has not confirmed she has very little prospect of winning a singles match for as long as she continues to try.
American Sandy Collins suffered 17 consecutive losses between 1984 and 1987 on the WTA Tour and she shares that record of defeats with Dutch player Arantxa Rus, who recorded her miserable run between 2012 and 2013.
Venus Williams is too big a legend to add her name to that list of shame, but she is in danger of setting records for all the wrong reasons and this needs to stop.
