Venus Williams has set her sights on competing at this year's French Open, despite suffering an opening-round defeat at the Madrid Open, which marked her first competitive appearance on clay in five years.
Return to Clay
The seven-time Grand Slam singles champion, aged 45, was beaten 6-2 6-4 by fellow wild card Kaitlin Quevedo on Tuesday. This loss represents her 10th consecutive singles defeat since returning to the tour midway through last season, following a 16-month break from the sport. Williams will require a wild card entry to feature at Roland Garros.
Reflecting on her return to the red dirt, Williams told reporters: "Yeah, I mean, to get my feet dirty, this was a great start." She also conveyed her disappointment at being unable to participate in another upcoming clay tournament.
"I'm not able to play Rome, I have other commitments, unfortunately, so I'm really super sad about that, actually. My husband is Italian, so we feel sad that we can't be there. So we would love to keep it going on the clay," she said.
Performance and Adjustments
Williams's last match on clay before Madrid was at the French Open in 2021. Despite Tuesday's loss, she found positives in her performance. "I felt like in the last game I started to move better on the clay. But then it was the last game," she admitted. "All these things take adjustments. I started my practice on clay a couple weeks after Miami. I haven't really played on clay in years. But I enjoy the clay, it's fun. I played against a very inspired opponent today."
French Open History
The five-time Wimbledon champion has never won the French Open, but did make the final back in 2002. However, Williams fell short of picking up the trophy as she was beaten in straight sets by her younger sister, Serena. This year's French Open is scheduled to commence on 24 May.
