Will Venus Williams return to WTA Tour for a shot at the Games?

The 40-year-old American icon is on a downward spiral with just one WTA Tour victory over the past 12 months

VETERAN: Venus Williams

VENUS WILLIAMS, who suffered her worst season as professional tennis player for a decade, could be ready to hang up her racquet if she doesn’t make it to the Olympic Games next year.

The 40-year-old American icon, who has four Olympic gold medals but only boasts the singles gold from the 2000 Games in Australia, is on a downward spiral with just one WTA Tour victory over the past 12 months.

With her world ranking of no.78 her lowest on the circuit since 2011, she has the opportunity of one last shot to improve that if she competes in the season’s final pair of WTA tournaments of the year.

Williams’ straight sets reversal at the hands of little known Slovakian Anna Karolina Schmiedlova in the opening round of the French Open was a massive setback, and the five-time Wimbledon singles winner is currently ranked 25 places lower from where she kicked off the season.

Yet when asked on court, following September’s shock French Open exit, if she had any plans to play again in 2020 the response was curt: “No, there’s nowhere to go. And even if there was I’m done anyway!”

Quizzed as if she was intending to carry on playing in 2021 Williams, who has won only one match in her past six Grand Slam tournaments, smiled and insisted: “Yes, definitely!”

Cancelled

With tournaments being cancelled there are only two left this year. Compatriot Cori ‘Coco’ Gauff is the defending champion at the Upper Austria Ladies Linz event in Austria, which is set to be played from November 9-15. And the Open BLS De Limoges in central France is scheduled to take place from December 14-20, although with the nation in lockdown this seems highly likely to be cancelled.

Gauff, who burst onto the scene with her emphatic destruction of Williams on Centre Court at Wimbledon last year, is aged just 16 but remains a rising star despite some indifferent displays on the circuit.

She crashed her way into the world’s top 50 last month, moving up eight places to no.47 on the WTA rankings by reaching the last 16 at the Ostrava Open in the Czech Republic.

While Gauff will be pushing to make the USA Olympic team, if Williams fails to make the cut it should bring down the curtain on her illustrious career that included scooping seven grand slam singles crowns with aplomb.

Realistically Williams will be hard pressed to make the USA team either in singles or doubles despite ushering in coach Eric Hechtman last year. With each nation competing at the Games limited to a maximum of six women players, the Florida-based legend will have to dramatically up her game in 2021 as there already lie 13 compatriots ranked higher at singles.

Williams has captured a remarkable 49 singles titles with her last crown four years ago, but she seems a shadow of the player who enjoyed a highly productive campaign in 2017 when she raced into the finals at both the Australian Open and Wimbledon.

Whether Williams will bounce back on the circuit remains to be seen, and no longer being the draw to endless sponsors could determine her future in the sport she has adorned since turning professional in 1994.

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