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Venus Williams' Madrid Defeat Extends Skid to 10 in First for a Former No. 1

She plans to seek a French Open wildcard to keep her clay return going.

Overview

  • Venus Williams, playing her first clay match since 2021, lost 6-2, 6-4 to Spanish wildcard Kaitlin Quevedo in the Madrid Open first round on Tuesday.
  • The defeat pushed her singles losing streak to 10, which WTA records say is the first such run by a former world No. 1 since rankings began in 1975.
  • After the match, Williams said she hopes to play Roland Garros next month and would need a wildcard, while confirming she will skip Rome due to other commitments.
  • She stays active this week in Madrid by entering doubles with Britain’s Katie Boulter, with an opening match against China’s Jiang Xinyu and Xu Yifan.
  • Quevedo, 20 and ranked near No. 140, earned her first WTA 1000 main-draw win and just her second tour-level victory, becoming the youngest Spanish player to win a main-draw match at Madrid.