Venus Williams confirms first tournament of 2023 in Dallas

Venus Williams will be the star attraction at the inaugural Women's Tennis Classic at the Dallas Open, which will be held on February 4, 2023. The seven-time Grand Slam champion will square off against 2022 Australian Open runner-up Danielle Collins.

The Dallas Open is an ATP 250 tournament, but the organizers have added a women's exhibition event to spice things up. Having a huge star like Williams will certainly boost the profile of the tournament and bring in more fans.

"We are thrilled to announce that Venus Williams will join us in our inaugural showcase of women’s tennis at the 2023 ATP Dallas Open, playing in the Women’s Tennis Classic. In addition to some of the best names in the sport expected to compete in the ATP Dallas Open, having a legend like Venus join us just adds to a fantastic week of tennis," tournament director Peter Lebedevs said.

Williams and Collins' match will take place at 7 pm local time on February 4. The two will square off in a best-of-three-set match, though the third set will be a match tie-break instead of a regular set.

Venus Williams recently announced her intention to return to tennis

Venus Williams at the 2022 Canadian Open.

After spending most of the 2022 season on the sidelines, Venus Williams returned to action at Wimbledon, where she competed in mixed doubles. Teaming up with Jamie Murray, they made it to the second round.

Williams' singles campaign commenced at the Citi Open in August. However, she lost to Rebecca Marino in three sets in the first round. The American failed to get past the opening hurdles in Canada and Cincinnati as well.

Williams then lost to Alison Van Uytvanck in the first round of the US Open. The tournament was also Serena Williams' farewell event. The sisters teamed up to compete in doubles but were knocked out in the first round.

Williams frequently provides updates to her fans and in a recently released video on her YouTube channel, she hinted at a return to tennis.

"A lot of people have been asking me... 'are you gonna play again?' I love tennis and I would like to play again and I will let you know exactly when," Venus Williams said.

Williams' participation in the Dallas exhibition event is the first confirmation of her return to the sport. However, there have been no updates from her regarding any regular WTA events. The former World No. 1 is currently ranked outside the top 1,000 and will need to rely on wildcards for a chance to compete on the WTA tour.

With the 2023 season just around the corner, the wildcards for the Australian Open and for the tournaments leading up to it will be announced shortly. Fans will know soon enough if they'll get to see Williams in action at the start of the new season.

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