"We slept through the first practice" - Venus Williams on her experience at her very first French Open
Venus Williams spoke about her experience at the 1997 French Open, her first tournament outside the United States.
The former World No. 1 often has Q and A sessions with her fans on social media and answers a variety of questions asked to her. In her most recent Q and A, one fan asked Venus Williams about her first tournament outside the United States. The 42-year-old claimed that it was the French Open in 1997 which was also her maiden Grand Slam appearance.
Williams said that she felt jet-lagged and slept throughout her first practice session. She also claimed that she and Serena Williams were given a wake-up call so that they didn't miss their car.
"First tournament outside the USA was the French Open which is happening now. I was 16 years old, it was my first Grand Slam, my tournament outside the US. I remember we got there and we were jet-lagged, so we slept through the first practice. The second practice we got a wake-up call so that we wouldn't miss our car, Serena and I," Venus Williams said on her Instagram story.
Venus won her first Grand Slam match by defeating Japan's Naoko Sawamatsu 6-2, 6-7(2), 7-5 in the first round of the French Open. However, she suffered a 5-7, 6-3, 7-5 to Nathalie Tauziat in the second round.
The American has not won the singles title French Open, with her best performance being reaching the final in 2002, where she lost 7-5, 6-3 to her sister Serena Williams.
Venus Williams receives a wildcard for the Libema Open
Venus Williams is set to return to action during the grass season as she received a wildcard for the Libema Open in 's-Hertogenbosch, Netherlands.
"A legend arrives. We proudly present Venus Williams as a participant in our WTA tournament! The American receives a wildcard and will debut on the 's-Hertogenbosch grass courts," the official account of Libema Open tweeted.
Williams last competed at the ASB Classic in Auckland, starting with a 7-6(4), 6-2 win over Katie Volynets. She then suffered a 3-6, 6-2, 7-5 loss to Zhu Lin in the Round of 16 and was eliminated.
The American suffered an injury during the match which kept her sidelined for several months. However, she will be in action during the grass-court season and it will be interesting to see how she fares.