Venus Williams withdraws from BNP Paribas Open after wild card invite
7-time Grand Slam Champion Venus Williams withdraws from the BNP Paribas Open after not accepting the wild card invite.
A Message From Tournament Director Tommy Haas:
— BNP Paribas Open (@BNPPARIBASOPEN) February 24, 2025
“Our team has been informed that Venus is not accepting the wild card this year. We wish Venus all the best and hope to see her back in Indian Wells in the future.”
Williams now joins World No. 1 ATP player Jannik Sinner as a player to not participate at Indian Wells.
This would have been William's first WTA tournament in nearly a year.
Original Post February 19th
INDIAN WELLS, Calif. (KESQ) - The BNP Paribas Open announced its first four wild cards for the 2025 event next month at the Indian Wells Tennis Gardens, Grand Slam champions Venus Williams and Petra Kvitova as well as rising teenage ATP talents João Fonseca and Learner Tien.
Williams, a Southern California native, has competed on the WTA Tour for more than 30 years since her debut in 1994. Williams is a former World No. 1 in both singles and doubles and has won a combined 23 Grand Slams across all competitions, including seven in singles, while also winning four Olympic Gold Medals and the 2008 WTA Tour Championships. The 2025 BNP Paribas Open will mark Williams’ tenth career appearance at Indian Wells, having reached the semifinal three times (1998, 2001, 2018) and competing most recently last year as a wild card.
Kvitova is a two-time Wimbledon Champion (2011, 2014) and has reached as high as World No. 2 in her career that has spanned nearly two decades. Kvitova will make her 13th career appearance in the desert after a 15-month absence from competition following the birth of her first child. Kvitova has reached the quarterfinal in Indian Wells three times, including in her most recent appearance in 2023.
The tournament also announced its first two ATP main draw wild cards, awarded to rising teenage stars João Fonseca and Learner Tien.
The 18-year-old Fonseca is fresh off winning his first ATP title at the 2025 Argentina Open, where he became the youngest Brazilian ATP title winner in the Open Era and the 10th-youngest titlist in Tour history.
The 19-year-old Tien is a native of Irvine, California, and produced the biggest result of his young career to start the season when he reached the fourth round at the 2025 Australian Open. Tien’s run in Melbourne made him the youngest player since Rafael Nadal (2005) to reach the Australian Open second week.
Fonseca and Tien met in last December’s 2024 Next Generation ATP Finals, where the Brazilian prevailed in the championship match.
The full list of 2025 wild cards will be announced closer to the start of the tournament.
Stay with News Channel 3 for continuing coverage of the BNP Paribas Open
