By TennisUpToDate.com

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Venus Williams has not ruled out the possibility of competing in the 2028 Olympic Games in Los Angeles. The 7-time major champion has made a remarkable return to the courts during the recent North American swing, earning singles and doubles wins at 45 years old.

The former world No. 1, who turned pro in 1994, is still competing in professional tournaments. After a 15-month hiatus, Williams reappeared at the DC Open with wild cards in singles and doubles (partnering with Hailey Baptiste). Her return was a success, as she advanced to the singles fourth round with a win over world No. 35 Peyton Stearns and reached the doubles quarterfinals.

What seemed like a simple comeback became a major story, drawing significant attention in Washington, a phenomenon that was repeated weeks later at the Cincinnati Open. The former No. 1 put on a great performance in the first round, although she fell to Jessica Bouzas Maneiro. It wasn’t her last time on the court, as she was later announced for the US Open in the singles, doubles, and mixed doubles draws.

While she lost in the first round of mixed doubles with Reilly Opelka and the singles first round to Karolina Muchova, she had a successful run in doubles with Canadian Leylah Fernandez. The pair secured three consecutive wins to reach the quarterfinals, where they were eventually defeated by the world No. 1 duo of Katerina Siniakova and Taylor Townsend.

An unbelievable comeback

The high level of play Venus Williams has shown at 45 is a pleasant surprise. She remains competitive against players who, in many cases, weren’t even born when Williams was starting her professional career. Her win against Stearns at the DC Open illustrates this perfectly: Williams had already won four Grand Slam titles by the time Stearns was born in October 2001.

Williams has stated several times that she is not thinking about retirement yet and plans to continue making sporadic appearances, though she rules out traveling the world for a full tournament schedule as she did decades ago. Like her sister Serena, most of her time is now dedicated to public appearances, business, and investments.

During a recent event for her partnership with Liquid I.V., Parade magazine asked Williams if she could see herself competing at the 2028 Los Angeles Olympic Games. “Nothing is impossible,” she said, “but I would have to just keep the motivation to stay on the court that long, and we’ll see. Nothing’s impossible.” The next Olympic Games will be held from July 14 to 30, 2028, in Los Angeles, at which point the American will have already turned 48.

The Williams Sisters Launch New Podcast

Meanwhile, Venus Williams is not slowing down with her projects. Although she is not expected to make any more tour appearances this season, the former No. 1 is still making headlines after announcing the launch of her new podcast with her sister, Serena. The Williams sisters will co-host “Stockton Street,” which is set to debut this Wednesday with its first episode, recorded at Flushing Meadows just before the US Open began.

“As close as we are, we had to keep so many things distant because of our jobs,” Serena told The Hollywood Reporter regarding their new joint project. “As much as she’s my sister, she’s also my opponent, and you can’t be as open as you want to be. So this is a real opportunity to do something that we’ve been trying to do, and also just a discovery thing as well.”