Venus Williams gets wild-card entree for Miami Open

Venus Williams will be a wild-card entree for the upcoming Miami Open.

The three-time Miami Open winner will be joined by former championSloane Stephens, and five rising teenagers among the wild-card recipients for the event, which runs March 15-29 at Hard Rock Stadium. Williams, 45, made her Miami debut 29 years ago in 1997 and won her first Miami trophy one year later. She most recently fell in the first round to Diane Parry at the BNP Paribas Open in Indian Wells, Calif.

Stephens won here in 2018. They will be joined by fellow women’s wild-card recipients Taylor Townsend, Ashlyn Krueger, Jennifer Brady, Lilli Tagger, Emerson Jones and Darja Vidmanova. 

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Williams, a seven-time Grand Slam champion and former World No. 1 will be returning for her 23rd appearance at the tournament. She will be competing in her 111th WTA 1000-level event – fifth most in history.

 She recently became the oldest female player to compete at the Australian Open after the Jupiter Island resident received a wildcard for the main draw.

Stephens, an eight-time WTA title winner, claimed the 2017 U.S. Open and in 2018 she was the runner-up at both Roland Garros and the WTA Finals.  

This article originally appeared on Palm Beach Post: Miami Open wild cards include Venus Williams, Sloane Stephens