Venus Williams awarded wild-card entry for Australian Open

MELBOURNE, Australia (AP) — Venus Williams has been awarded a wild-card entry to play at the Australian Open next month. It will be 25 years after she played the Grand Slam tournament for the first time. The 42-year-old Williams has reached the final twice in Australia, including a loss to her younger sister, Serena, in the 2017 championship match. She will be contesting the season-opening major for the 22nd time. Venus and Serena Williams combined to win the Australian Open women’s doubles title four times and Venus also won the mixed doubles title in 1998. Serena Williams will not be contesting the Jan. 16-29 tournament at Melbourne Park after announcing at the U.S. Open that she was ready to evolve away from tennis.