Venus Williams is making a return to tennis and will play mixed doubles at the US Open with fellow American Reilly Opelka.
Williams, who turned 45 last month, is a seven-time Grand Slam singles champion. She came back to competitive tennis last week at the DC Open, where she won her first singles and doubles matches after more than a year away from the WTA Tour.
The US Tennis Association announced on Tuesday that Williams and Opelka are one of 14 teams taking part in the newly revamped mixed doubles event, which takes place on August 19–20.
Williams is also planning to play in the Cincinnati Open next month with a wild card entry. She may also ask for a wild card to play singles at the US Open. These wild cards will be announced in about two weeks.
Prize money and top players
The winning team in the US Open mixed doubles will receive $1 million.
Eight teams got direct entry based on their combined singles rankings. These include:
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Jannik Sinner (Italy) and Emma Navarro (USA)
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Jack Draper (UK) and Paula Badosa (Spain)
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Alexander Zverev (Germany) and Belinda Bencic (Switzerland)
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Taylor Fritz (USA) and Elena Rybakina (Kazakhstan)
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Holger Rune (Denmark) and Amanda Anisimova (USA)
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Daniil Medvedev and Mirra Andreeva (both Russia)
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Jessica Pegula and Tommy Paul (USA)
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Iga Swiatek (Poland) and Casper Ruud (Norway)
Big names get wild cards
Some teams received wild card entries, including:
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Carlos Alcaraz (Spain) and Emma Raducanu (UK)
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Madison Keys and Frances Tiafoe (USA)
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Taylor Townsend (world No. 1 in women’s doubles) and Ben Shelton (USA)
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Sara Errani and Andrea Vavassori (Italy)
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Olga Danilovic and Novak Djokovic (Serbia), who holds a record 24 Grand Slam singles titles