Venus Williams Wants Sister Serena Williams to Come Out of Tennis Retirement: ‘I Miss Her’

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Serena and Venus Williams
Venus Williams is returning to tennis and says there’s only one thing that would make it better — if her sister Serena came back too.

“We always did everything together, so of course I miss her,” Williams, 45, told reporters in advance of the DC Open. “But if she comes back, I’m sure she’ll let y’all know.”

Venus — who last played in March 2024 at the Miami Open — accepted a wild card invitation to the tournament, and until recently was listed as “inactive” on the WTA Tour’s website.

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“I’m just here for now, and who knows?” Venus said. “Maybe there’s more. … But at the moment, I’m focused just on this. I haven’t played in a year. There is no doubt I can play tennis, but obviously coming back to play matches, it takes time to get in the swing of things. I definitely feel I’ll play well. I’m still the same player. I’m a big hitter. I hit big. This is my brand.”

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Venus and Serena Williams won gold in doubles at the 2000 Olympics.
Meanwhile, 43-year-old Serena — who last played in the 2022 US Open — famously said she was “evolving away” from tennis and interested in working on entrepreneurial pursuits. The 23-time Grand Slam winner gave birth to her second daughter in August 2023.

“I don’t know what she’s going to do. I don’t ask those questions,” Venus said about her sister, with whom she won 14 doubles titles. “I think we always hit the ball, because that’s who we are. We’re always hitting.”

In fact, Serena — who is sporting a streamlined physique and told PEOPLE in 2024 that she was taking up running — recently joined her big sister while she was practicing.

“She can take six months off and she clocks it clean,” Venus said. “You can’t teach that kind of talent. She’s just so good.”