American Venus Williams has received a bye to the main draw of the National Bank Open, the organizing committee announced in a press release on Monday.
Williams, a former world number 1 who has won seven Grand Slam titles, will take part in the tournament for the first time since 2018. The 43-year-old, who will be in her 12e appearance at the Canadian tournament, collected 49 singles titles and appeared in 83 finals in her career, the most among active players.
“Venus continues to be an inspiration with her tireless efforts and determination to return to the top of her game, and we look forward to [la] see on the courts of the IGA stadium”, declared Valérie Tétreault, manager of the Omnium Banque Nationale de Montréal.
Her best result in Montreal was a place in the final in 2014, where she lost 4-6, 2-6 to Poland’s Agnieszka Radwańska.
The pass awarded to Williams is reserved for players who have previously held the No. 1000 category singles.
This is the second pass granted for this year’s tournament, after that given to Denmark’s Caroline Wozniacki at the end of June.
The organizing committee will unveil the rest of the list of participants on July 13. In addition, the allocation of three passes to Canadians will be announced closer to the competition.
The National Bank Open will take place from August 4 to 13.
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