Venus Williams to face Rio Olympic gold medalist Monica Puig in exhibition match in Puerto Rico in September
Venus Williams will face Rio Olympic singles gold medalist Monica Puig in an exhibition match in Puerto Rico in September.
Williams last competed at Wimbledon 2023 where she suffered a 6-4, 6-3 defeat to Elina Svitolina in the first round. The American has a few tournaments to look forward to during the US Open Series. Following the conclusion of the American Major, she is scheduled to take on Puig in an exhibition event called the 'Battle of Legends' on September 15.
The match will take place at the Coliseo de Puerto Rico. Williams shared an image of the event's poster on her Instagram story, with her caption reading:
"Looking forward to my September 15th match vs @monicaace93."
Monica Puig is only 29 years old, but has already retired from professional tennis. She had a pretty modest playing career, with her biggest achievement coming at the Rio Olympics in 2016, where she won the singles gold by beating Angelique Kerber in the final.
Puig became the first Puerto Rican to win an Olympic gold. She retired from tennis in 2022, with her last match coming at the Madrid Open, where she lost 7-5, 6-0 to Danielle Collins.
Venus Williams faced Monica Puig twice on the WTA tour
Venus WIlliams and Monica Puig locked horns twice on the WTA tour, with the American coming out on top on both occasions.
The first match between the two took place in the second round of the 2013 Family Circle Cup (now known as the Charleston Open), where Williams won a tense encounter 6-2, 5-7, 6-3 to reach the last 16. She eventually went on to reach the semifinals of the tournament before losing 6-1, 6-2 to her sister Serena Williams.
The second encounter between the two came in the opening round of the 2015 US Open and this time, the former World No. 1 won 6-4, 6-7(3), 6-3. Venus Williams went on to reach the quarterfinals of the New York Major before being beaten 6-2, 1-6, 6-3 by Serena Williams.
The 43-year-old has played six matches so far in the 2023 season, winning twice that saw her reaching the Round of 16 of two WTA 250 events in Auckland and Birmingham.
She is next scheduled to compete at the Canadian Open in Montreal. The American took part in the WTA 1000 event last year, where she suffered a 6-2, 6-3 defeat to Jil Teichmann in the first round.