In pictures: Venus Williams spotted training in Croatia following Wimbledon exploits
After losing in the second round of the mixed doubles competition at the 2022 Wimbledon Championships, Venus Williams was spotted training in Croatia.
The American has made a return to the tennis courts after an eleven-month hiatus, spurred on by her sister, Serena Williams. She teamed up with Andy Murray's brother Jamie Murray to play mixed doubles at the 2022 Wimbledon Championships. However, their run was cut short at the hands of the pairing of Alicia Barnett and Jonny O'Mara, winning 3-6, 6-4, 7-6[18-16], in a match between two wildcard teams that lasted two hours and twelve minutes on Court 2.
Welcome back, Venus. đź’šđź’ś
@Venuseswilliams | #Wimbledon https://t.co/fdOjq0RYwY
However, after her dismal exit, she was spotted training in Croatia. The 42-year-old, who was training at the Falkensteiner Resort today, came to Zadar on a private jet on Wednesday afternoon, as reported by daily 24sata. Her sister Serena trained in Croatia a few years back as well. She trained at Novigrad in Istriaria in 2014.
"She has arrived in Zadar on vacation, but is spending her free time training. She chose Falkensteiner’s elite resort in Petrčane as her temporary residence, and for now it is not known how long she will stay in Croatia,” 24sata reported.
“He played hard to get, I wanted to play with him for ages"- Venus Williams on Jamie Murray
After being motivated by her younger sister Serena Williams' return to singles action at Wimbledon this year, the older Williams sister also made a return to the courts. Serena herself made her comeback at Wimbledon after being off the courts for a year. She lost to Harmony Tan in the first round in three sets and while her comeback wasn't particularly impressive, it did cause some sparks to fly in Venus Williams.
She subsequently made a last-minute decision to partner with Jamie Murray and then discussed her comeback in her post-match press conference. She said that the grass at Wimbledon also played a significant role in her return.
“He played hard to get,” Williams said. “I wanted to play with him for ages but it was super last-minute. I was at the French Open which is beautiful but my heart didn’t beat the same way as when I saw the grass.”