4 Sep 2018

Tennis: Venus to return to Auckland

1:27 pm on 4 September 2018

The seven time grand slam winner Venus Williams will return to Auckland to play in the ASB Tennis Classic this summer.

Williams, 38, is currently ranked 16th in the world and has been ranked the number one one player in the world three times.

It will be her fifth appearance at the Auckland tournament.

She has captured 49 WTA singles titles, the second most of any active player (behind sister Serena), 14 major doubles titles and four Olympic Gold Medals.

Venus Williams

Venus Williams. Photo: photosport

"It's great to have Venus back. She has been a special part of this tournament for a number of years and we missed her this year. She is still at the top of the game and how good would it be if she could capture career title number 50 here in Auckland" said Tournament Director, Karl Budge.

Next year's tournament will see a change in schedule from previous years with the introduction of twilight sessions at the start of the Women's week, which has also been extended to seven playing days - Monday December 31st to Sunday January 6th.

The men's week will follow straight afterwards, finishing with the finals on Saturday, January 12th.