{"id":1835269,"date":"2026-03-19T17:00:51","date_gmt":"2026-03-19T14:00:51","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/analyse.optim.biz\/?p=1835269"},"modified":"2026-03-19T17:00:51","modified_gmt":"2026-03-19T14:00:51","slug":"venus-williams-wildcards-questioned-as-former-world-no-1-issues-verdict","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/analyse.optim.biz\/?p=1835269","title":{"rendered":"Venus Williams&#8217; wildcards questioned as former world No 1 issues verdict"},"content":{"rendered":"<article class=\"ps-article-content rounded-lg lg:mt-5 lg:border lg:border-card lg:bg-card lg:shadow-primary\">\n<header>\n<h1 class=\"py-4 text-xl font-normal text-title sm:text-2xl\">Venus Williams\u2019 wildcards questioned as former world No 1 issues verdict<\/h1>\n<div class=\"my-2 flex items-center justify-between\">\n<div class=\"flex items-center\">\n                        <a href=\"https:\/\/www.tennis365.com\/author\/oli-dickson-jefford\" class=\"text-sm font-normal !text-author\"><br \/>\n                            Oli Dickson Jefford                        <\/a><br \/>\n                        <time class=\"ml-3 text-sm font-normal text-info md:ml-4\" datetime=\"19 Mar 2026 5:00 PM\" data-ps-date=\"19 Mar 2026 5:00 PM\" data-ps-datetime=\"1773939651\"><br \/>\n                            19 Mar 2026 5:00 PM                        <\/time>\n                    <\/div>\n<div class=\"hidden justify-end space-x-4 text-xl sm:flex sm:!opacity-100\">\n                        <a href=\"https:\/\/google.com\/preferences\/source?q=tennis365.com\" target=\"_blank\" rel=\"nofollow noopener noreferrer\"><br \/>\n                            <img loading=\"lazy\" decoding=\"async\" class=\"mx-auto !my-0 hidden dark:block h-6\" src=\"https:\/\/www.tennis365.com\/content\/themes\/tennis365-sportsui\/img\/png\/preferred_source_badge_dark.png\" alt=\"Add as a preferred source on Google\" width=\"76\" height=\"24\"><br \/>\n                            <img loading=\"lazy\" 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border-none !text-share-icon outline-none hover:!text-share-icon-active sm:hidden\" data-title=\"Venus Williams\u2019 wildcards questioned as former world No 1 issues verdict\"><\/p>\n<p>                        <\/button>\n                    <\/div>\n<\/p><\/div>\n<\/header>\n<div class=\"-mx-3 sm:-mx-5 border-b border-page\"><\/div>\n<section>\n<div class=\"-mx-3 sm:-mx-5\">\n<figure class=\"aspect-h-9 aspect-w-16 relative\">\n                                        <img fetchpriority=\"high\" decoding=\"async\" width=\"1320\" height=\"742\" loading=\"eager\" class=\"w-full h-full object-cover object-center !my-0\" src=\"https:\/\/d2me2qg8dfiw8u.cloudfront.net\/content\/uploads\/2026\/02\/Venus-Williams-during-a-match-1320x742.jpg\" alt=\"Pictured: Venus Williams during a match\">                <\/figure><figcaption class=\"flex items-center space-x-3 border-b border-mobile-caption px-3 lg:border-caption\">\n<div><\/div>\n<div class=\"my-1.5 break-words !text-xs !text-content\">\n                                Venus Williams reacts during her match                            <\/div>\n<\/figcaption><\/div>\n<div class=\"ciam-article-t365\">\n<p>Former world No 1 Yevgeny Kafelnikov has questioned whether tennis great Venus Williams should continue receiving wildcards into WTA Tour events.<\/p>\n<p>Tennis icon <a href=\"https:\/\/www.tennis365.com\/tag\/venus-williams\">Williams<\/a> is widely considered among the greatest female tennis players of the Open Era, reaching world No 1 and winning seven Grand Slam singles titles during her legendary career.<\/p>\n<p>After a 14-month absence from the WTA Tour, the 45-year-old made a surprise return to action at the Washington Open last July, receiving a wildcard into the WTA 500 event.<\/p>\n<p><a href=\"https:\/\/www.tennis365.com\/wta-tour\/venus-williams-9356-re-enters-wta-rankings-historic-win-second-oldest-match-winner\">Williams memorably stunned Peyton Stearns in a historic opening-round victory<\/a>, though she then fell in straight sets to Magdalena Frech in the second round.<\/p>\n<p>The American then lost in the opening round of both the Cincinnati Open and the US Open as a wildcard last summer, and has so far been beaten in the opening round of the five tournaments she has contested in 2026.<\/p>\n<p>Most recently, Williams was beaten 6-3, 6-7(4), 6-1 by Diane Parry in the first round of Indian Wells a fortnight ago, extending her losing run to eight matches.<\/p>\n<p>While the 45-year-old has been competitive in some of her losses, Williams\u2019 winless streak has attracted debate as to whether she should keep receiving wildcards into WTA events.<\/p>\n<p>And, two-time Grand Slam singles champion <a href=\"https:\/\/www.tennis365.com\/tag\/yevgeny-kafelnikov\">Kafelnikov<\/a> is among those suggesting that the American should not receive more wildcards in the future.<\/p>\n<h2>Tennis News<\/h2>\n<p><a href=\"https:\/\/www.tennis365.com\/tennis-features\/emma-raducanu-injury-biggest-problem-helath-withdrawal\">Emma Raducanu\u2019s biggest problem continues to haunt her and she needs to find an answer quickly<\/a><\/p>\n<p><a href=\"https:\/\/www.tennis365.com\/tennis-news\/former-world-no-1-jannik-sinner-didnt-necessarily-impress-indian-wells-open-title\">Former world No 1 says \u2018Jannik Sinner didn\u2019t necessarily impress me\u2019 with Indian Wells Open title<\/a><\/p>\n<p>Reflecting on recent comments made by fellow former Russian pro Dmitry Tursunov, Kafelnikov claimed on <a rel=\"noopener nofollow\" href=\"https:\/\/www.youtube.com\/watch?si=ljCfWeEgcG5DkgzT&amp;v=JIx4zECn9kY&amp;feature=youtu.be\" target=\"_blank\"><em>Hard Court<\/em><\/a> that the wildcard Williams received in Indian Wells could have been used more \u201cproductively.\u201d<\/p>\n<p>He said: \u201cHave you read Dmitry Tursunov\u2019s telegram?<\/p>\n<p>\u201cAfter another Venus Williams defeat, he said, I have incredible respect for Venus Williams\u2019 achievements. Multiple Grand Slam singles champion, world number one, but it\u2019s time.<\/p>\n<p>\u201cThe wildcard into the main draw would be useful for many girls.<\/p>\n<p>\u201cThis wildcard could have been used more productively, and I, in principle, completely agree with him.\u201d<\/p>\n<p>Williams has also received a wildcard into this week\u2019s Miami Open, with the American a three-time former women\u2019s singles champion at the WTA 1000 event.<\/p>\n<p>She lifted the title at the event in 1998, 1999, and 2001, and was also a runner-up at the tournament back in 2010.<\/p>\n<p>Williams has been drawn against Francesca Jones in round one and will finally take to the court and face the Brit on Thursday, with their match initially scheduled for Wednesday before a full day of play was cancelled due to rain.<\/p>\n<p>Should Williams progress, she would face fifth seed and compatriot Jessica Pegula in the second round.<\/p>\n<p><strong>Want more from Tennis365? Add us as <a rel=\"noopener nofollow\" href=\"https:\/\/www.google.com\/preferences\/source?q=tennis365.com\" target=\"_blank\">a preferred source on Google to your favourites list<\/a> for tennis coverage you can trust.<\/strong><\/p>\n<p><strong>Read Next<\/strong>: <a href=\"https:\/\/www.tennis365.com\/tennis-features\/miami-open-withdrawal-list-world-no-5-joins-djokovic-raducanu-absences-pile-up\">Miami Open withdrawal list: World No 5 joins Djokovic &amp; Raducanu as absences pile up<\/a><\/p>\n<div class=\"kwizly-quiz kwizly-XbjZnX\" data-nosnippet=\"\" data-quiz-type=\"poll|mpu\"><\/div>\n<\/p>\n<\/div>\n<\/section>\n<\/article>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"<p>Venus Williams\u2019 wildcards questioned as former world No 1 issues verdict Oli Dickson Jefford 19 Mar 2026 5:00 PM Venus Williams reacts during her match Former world No 1 Yevgeny Kafelnikov has questioned whether tennis great Venus Williams should continue receiving wildcards into WTA Tour events. Tennis icon Williams is widely considered among the greatest [&hellip;]<\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":1,"featured_media":0,"comment_status":"open","ping_status":"","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"footnotes":""},"categories":[1],"tags":[226,249],"class_list":["post-1835269","post","type-post","status-publish","format-standard","hentry","category-uncategorized","tag-crawlmanager","tag-tennis365-com"],"_links":{"self":[{"href":"https:\/\/analyse.optim.biz\/index.php?rest_route=\/wp\/v2\/posts\/1835269","targetHints":{"allow":["GET"]}}],"collection":[{"href":"https:\/\/analyse.optim.biz\/index.php?rest_route=\/wp\/v2\/posts"}],"about":[{"href":"https:\/\/analyse.optim.biz\/index.php?rest_route=\/wp\/v2\/types\/post"}],"author":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/analyse.optim.biz\/index.php?rest_route=\/wp\/v2\/users\/1"}],"replies":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/analyse.optim.biz\/index.php?rest_route=%2Fwp%2Fv2%2Fcomments&post=1835269"}],"version-history":[{"count":0,"href":"https:\/\/analyse.optim.biz\/index.php?rest_route=\/wp\/v2\/posts\/1835269\/revisions"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"https:\/\/analyse.optim.biz\/index.php?rest_route=%2Fwp%2Fv2%2Fmedia&parent=1835269"}],"wp:term":[{"taxonomy":"category","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/analyse.optim.biz\/index.php?rest_route=%2Fwp%2Fv2%2Fcategories&post=1835269"},{"taxonomy":"post_tag","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/analyse.optim.biz\/index.php?rest_route=%2Fwp%2Fv2%2Ftags&post=1835269"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}