Venus Williams says she wants to "start early" her 2026 season and avoid "the cramming feeling," and why she decided to sign up for Auckland and play in the first week of the new season.
In early November, the organizers of the WTA 250 tournament in Auckland announced that Williams - who is currently ranked at No. 577 in the world - received a wildcard into their 2026 event edition.
After playing her last tournament of the 2024 season in March, Williams also missed the first six months of the 2025 season. Just as tennis fans started to wonder whether the seven-time Grand Slam decided to silently retire, she took a wildcard into Washington and played in three tournaments during the North American hard-court swing.
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Now, after getting some action during the summer, Williams will head to New Zealand to start her 2026 season at the tournament scheduled to take place between January 05-11.
Williams: I'm back on my feet and it is important for me to start 2026 early
"Whats next? Well Were going to Auckland. And we have a head start practicing; its not long after the Open - so were on our feet - bah, bah, bah. For me, it was important to get started early because I hated the feeling of cramming, I wanna be ready. Got back on the court, even if I missed a day or two here, I was always there. And its paying off - so. Thats the US Open rap, were getting ready for next year," the former world No. 1 said in her latest vlog.
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In the past, Williams competed in Auckland three times (2017, 2019 and 2023). The American's best result was a quarterfinal outing from 2019.
