MADRID — Venus Williams has her sights on the French Open.
The 45-year-old former world No. 1 mentioned Tuesday after shedding her tenth straight singles match that she is contemplating enjoying at Roland Garros subsequent month.
“Yeah, I imply, to get my ft soiled, this was an ideal begin,” she mentioned in her post-match information convention on the Madrid Open. “I am not in a position to play Rome, I’ve different commitments, sadly, so I am actually tremendous unhappy about that, really. My husband is Italian, so we really feel unhappy that we won’t be there. So we’d like to maintain it occurring the clay.”
Williams, a seven-time Grand Slam champion, misplaced 6-2, 6-4 to 20-year-old Spaniard Kaitlin Quevedo.
Williams hadn’t performed in Madrid in 5 years. Her final match on clay had been on the 2021 French Open, when she misplaced her first match to Ekaterina Alexandrova.
“All this stuff take changes,” Williams mentioned. “I began my follow on clay a pair weeks after Miami. I have not actually performed on clay in years. However I benefit from the clay, it is enjoyable. I performed in opposition to a really impressed opponent at the moment.”
Williams’ final win on tour was in opposition to Peyton Stearns within the spherical of 16 of an WTA 500 occasion in Washington in July 2025. This yr, she had already misplaced in Auckland, Hobart, the Australian Open, Austin, Indian Wells and Miami.
Quevedo earned her first WTA 1000 main-draw win, and simply the second tour-level victory of her profession. She turned the youngest Spanish participant to win a main-draw match on the Madrid Open.
“I used to be so shocked,” Quevedo mentioned. “I did not know that was going to occur. I am simply actually blissful that I used to be in a position to play in opposition to such a legend on this wonderful court docket for the primary time. It was a privilege, and I am simply actually blissful to be right here.”
