Venus Williams will compete in women’s doubles at the US Open with 2021 finalist Leylah Fernandez

NEW YORK AP Venus Williams will compete in women s doubles at the U S Open after receiving a wild-card entry with singles runner-up Leylah Fernandez on Tuesday The -year-old Williams is appearing at her first Grand Slam tournament in two years after making a comeback to pro tennis in July following months away from the tour She competed in mixed doubles last week then in singles on Monday night both also via wild-card invitations from the U S Tennis Association Williams exited in the first round each time but was thrilled to be back out on court after dealing with injuries and illness She had surgery for uterine fibroids last year and spoke Monday following her three-set exit in singles against th-seeded Karolina Muchova about being relieved to be pain-free Oh what did I prove to myself Williams revealed repeating part of a reporter s question at her postmatch news conference I think for me getting back on the court was about giving myself a chance to play more healthy When you play unhealthy it s in your mind It s not just how you feel You get stuck in your mind too So it was nice to be freer She was the oldest person to play singles at the U S Open since and the spectators loved every moment of it greeting her with camera phones held aloft shouting Let s go Venus during the match and ushering her off the Arthur Ashe Stadium court with a standing ovation In addition to her seven Grand Slam singles trophies Williams owns major titles in women s doubles all with her younger sister Serena as her partner Two of those came in New York in and They last played together at the U S Open in the year Serena played her final singles match there Williams and Fernandez a -year-old from Canada will face the sixth-seeded pair of Lyudmyla Kichenok of Ukraine and Ellen Perez of Australia in the first round Fernandez lost to Emma Raducanu in the U S Open singles final four years ago Williams hadn t played an official match anywhere since the Miami Open in March until she surprisingly accepted a wild card to the hard-court tournament in Washington last month She entered the singles and doubles events there winning one match in each bracket This U S Open is her first major tournament since she played at Flushing Meadows in More AP tennis https apnews com hub tennis Source