3 former Slam champions handed wildcards for Western & Southern Open 2022 ft. Venus Williams

Seven-time Slam champion Venus Williams, 2020 Australian Open champion Sofia Kenin, and 2017 US Open champion Sloane Stephens have been handed wildcards into the main draw of the 2022 Western & Southern Open.

The tournament made the announcement on Thursday via social media platform Twitter.

The fact that Williams, Stephens, and Kenin needed a wildcard to enter the tournament is not surprising given their ranking. Stephens is the highest-ranked player among the three at No. 53, while Sofia Kenin lags way behind at No. 419.

Meanwhile, Venus Williams is unranked, given her absence from the tour for almost an entire year. Before that, she only played 12 matches in 2021, out of which she faced defeat on nine occasions. Her poor form, coupled with her lack of activity on tour this year, has seen her completely displaced from the ranking charts.

Sofia Kenin has featured in eight matches in 2022 but has only scored two victories. She started her year on a positive note, beating Lucia Bronzetti and Ajla Tomljanovic back-to-back at the Adelaide International. She has miserably struggled for form on tour since then, losing six straight matches.

Sloane Stephens' form in recent months is in sharp contrast to Williams' and Kenin's, despite the American having lost 10 of her 20 matches so far in 2022. The former US Open champion won the Abierto Zapopan back in February and also made the quarterfinals at the French Open.

Of the remaining nine tournaments that Stephens participated in this year, however, she could only muster one win.

Venus Williams, Sloane Stephens, and Sofia Kenin are all former semifinalists at the Western & Southern Open

Sloane Stephens after beating Venus Williams at the 2017 US Open Tennis Championships

Despite sharing a whopping four hardcourt Majors between them, Venus Williams, Sofia Kenin, and Sloane Stephens have largely struggled at the Western & Southern Open.

Neither player has made it past the semifinals of the tournament, and that too on a solitary occasion each. Williams made the last four of the tournament in 2012, losing to eventual champion Li Na. The 42-year-old also made the quarterfinals in 2007 and 2019.

Meanwhile, Sofia Kenin made the semifinals of the Cincinnati Open in her main-draw debut in 2019. She fell in the second round in 2020 and did not make an appearance in last year's edition.

Sloane Stephens has participated in the Cincinnati Open 10 times, making the semifinals in 2017. However, she has failed to get past the third round in each of her other nine attempts.