Venus Williams, former world number 1, will participate in the Auckland tournament in January, receiving a wild card, after an absence of almost a year and a half.

American tennis player Venus Williams, at the age of 45 and with an impressive record of seven Grand Slam titles, will participate in the Auckland tournament scheduled between January 5 and 11, after receiving a wild card. Absent from the circuit for almost a year and a half, Venus returned to competition in July at the Washington tournament, where she faced Peyton Stearns, a 24-year-old player who was not born when Venus won her first trophy at Wimbledon in 2000. Although she lost two matches at Cincinnati and the US Open, she managed to win a set against Karolina Muchova, the world number 13.

The tournament director in Auckland, Nicolas Lamperin, emphasized Venus's profound influence on women's tennis and mentioned that she is in remarkable physical shape. Venus won the Auckland Classic in 2015, defeating Caroline Wozniacki in the final.