Venus Williams’ comeback tour is set to continue in New Zealand when she plays her first match at the Auckland Classic.
Williams, a seven-time Grand Slam singles champion, returned to the sport at the age of 45 when she competed in the 2025 Washington Open.
Remarkably, Venus won her first match, before going on to compete at the Cincinnati Open and US Open.
Venus is set to play her first match of 2026 alongside Elina Svitolina in the Auckland Classic mixed doubles competition. The pair will face young stars Alexandra Eala and Iva Jovic in the first round.
Ahead of Monday’s match, Venus previewed her opening match while taking a cheeky swipe at her sister.
Venus Williams hopes Serena Williams ‘won’t be jealous’
As per the ASB Classic X page, Venus said: “I’m playing doubles with Elina Svitolina. We’ve always been opponents but finally we’re on the same team.
“And I hope Serena won’t be jealous.”
Serena had been rumoured to be making a comeback to the sport in 2026 after her name appeared on the International Tennis Integrity Agency (ITIA) testing pool list in late 2025.
However, Serena quickly shut down these rumours in a post on her X page.
She said: “Omg y’all I’m not coming back. This wildfire is crazy.”
In the same interview, Venus discussed how the dynamic between herself and Svitolina will work in Auckland.
“If there’s one thing she’s going to do, she’s going to compete,” Venus said of Svitolina.
“So neither of us play doubles every day, but I think we’ll both bring our singles game together and make it work.”
