Venus Williams refused to get into a debate over the number of wild cards she has received recently after losing her 17th straight singles match.

The former world No.1 and seven-time Grand Slam champion crashed out in the first round of the Hong Kong Open on Monday, losing to world No.114 Mary Stoiana in straight sets. Williams hasn’t won a match since the Citi Open in July 2025, and it’s been over five years since she last played in a tournament where she gained direct entry based on her ranking. According to World Tennis (formerly ITF), she has been granted 26 wild cards into events since January 2023.

“I don’t read online chatter,” Williams said to a reporter on Monday when asked about the debate on tournaments giving her wild cards.

The 46-year-old has not indicated that she plans to end her career anytime soon. However, her future intentions are unknown.

“I haven’t made any plans for next year, but also this year I didn’t make plans, just took it one step at a time. So, we’ll see,” she said.

“I’m going to ask Serena what she’s doing.”

Williams, who has Sjögren’s syndrome, has won 49 WTA singles titles during her career and another 22 in doubles. She turned professional in 1994.

“I don’t really fully focus on every one week at a time and whatever happens will happen and I don’t have any pressure to decide or anything,” Williams explained.

As for what the most challenging issue Williams currently faces on the Tour, she admits it is trying to find consistency. She has played 14 matches this season, losing in all of them. In eight of those matches, she failed to win a set.

“I feel like I spend my whole match just trying not to hit too hard and hit it out. Got a lot of power and still finding control,” she said.

“Most of the girls are playing week in week out. I take two months off and I come back and have to decide, okay, you know, do I go for this shot? Do I not go for this shot? Do I hit more spin here?

“And when you’re playing every week, it’s just a lot more automatic. So those are the kinds of things that I’m going through on the court. It’s pretty pretty normal.”

Williams is the oldest player to hold a WTA singles ranking currently.