Venus Williams Gets Indian Wells Wild Card at 45
Venus Williams continues making headlines at age 45 and will join Bianca Andreescu and Sloane Stephens as wild card entries at Indian Wells. Williams recently graced the Austin ATX Open, drawing crowds eager to see the tennis legend in action. The inclusion of these former Grand Slam champions adds significant star power to the tournament draw.
The BNP Paribas Open at Indian Wells is often called the "fifth Grand Slam" of tennis, making a main draw entry highly coveted. The tournament, held at the Indian Wells Tennis Garden, boasts the second-largest tennis stadium in the world and draws over 450,000 fans annually. Williams will be the oldest player to compete in the main draw at Indian Wells. While the average retirement age for female tennis players was historically around 27, there is a modern trend of players competing into their 30s and beyond. The seven-time Grand Slam champion is seeking her first match win of the 2026 season. Her current WTA ranking is 560. Fellow wild card recipient Bianca Andreescu is a former Indian Wells champion, having won the title in 2019 at just 18 years old. Sloane Stephens, the 2017 US Open champion, will also join the draw as a wild card, with her best Indian Wells result being a quarterfinal appearance in 2014.
