A chance conversation has led to Venus Williams making a bonus appearance at the 2026 ASB Classic.
The American legend, who was already one of the biggest drawcards in the singles draw, will now also play doubles in Auckland, as a late entry to the team entrant.
And she will be part of a glamour pairing, alongside tournament top seed and world No 14 Elina Svitolina, in what will be a feature of Monday’s session. It’s an unplanned highlight for organisers and came about in a serendipitous way, after tournament director Nicolas Lamperin ran into Williams’ husband Andrea Preti on Friday.
“Venus was practising on centre court and we were having a casual conversation, standing on the [players] balcony,” Lamperin told the Herald on Sunday. “All of a sudden he was telling me that he pushed her to play doubles at the [2025] US Open because initially she didn’t want to play, and how successful that had been and how the crowd got behind her.
“Then he said if there’s any opportunity for her to play in Auckland then I’m sure she would consider it. I told him we had a [doubles] wild card available so let me know who she wants to play with and we can speak to players.”
Lamperin was given two names later that day but one was focusing on singles and the other was already in the doubles field. As a longshot, Preti then suggested Svitolina.
“I called Elina straight away and she said yes,” said Lamperin. “She hasn’t played doubles for years – since 2021 - and it’s not something she usually does. But this is a unique situation and it’s hard to say no to Venus Williams.”
Williams is recognised as one of the greatest doubles exponents of all time, with 14 wins from 14 grand slam finals, all alongside sister Serena, to go with her seven major singles titles from 16 finals overall.
Lamperin isn’t sure if the new pair will be able to train together – “possibly not” – and they will make do with a warmup before they go on court. The match is likely to be the third match of the day session on Monday, with both Williams and Svitolina to have their first round singles on Tuesday.
Williams, who returned to the WTA tour last July after almost two years away, will face eighth seed Magda Linette. The Polish world No 54 is a tough draw, though Williams is an unknown quantity.
“With Venus, anything can happen,” said Lamperin. “She hasn’t played since the US Open, but at the same time, she’s had an amazing career and we know how professional she is. She’s been the first one here every day, training at eight o’clock in the morning.”
Williams was granted an Australian Open wildcard on Friday, where she will become the oldest female singles participant in the tournament’s history. Svitolina, who reached the final here in 2024 – beaten by Coco Gauff in three sets – will face French world No 76 Varvara Gracheva in the first round of singles, while highly rated young American Iva Jovic (No 35) has drawn a qualifier.
At 17, Jovic is seen as the next big thing and has already won a WTA title, after her triumph in Guadalajara last year. Fellow youngster Alexandre Eala (No 53), who is a sporting sensation in her native Philippines, will face Croatian Donna Vekic (69) in what is arguably the standout match of the first round. Vekic reached the Wimbledon semifinals in 2024, before taking the silver medal at the Paris Olympics a month later, while 20-year-old Eala already has some big scalps to her credit, including Madison Keys and Iga Swiatek.
Local wildcard Monique Barry has drawn German world No 86 Ella Seidel. Any clash at this level will be tough – given Barry has a ranking of 664 and spends most of the year on lower level ITF tournaments - but the New Zealander had some good results in 2025 and will be confident of being competitive.
“She showed us a lot of really good things last year,” said Lamperin. “I’m looking forward to see how much improvement she’s made in her game. Obviously, when you play top 100 players, it’s always a tough match but she has a bit more experience now.”
[1] E. Svitolina (UKR) vs V. Gracheva (FRA)
[WC] K. Boulter (GBR) vs Qualifier
[WC] M. Barry (NZL) vs E. Seidel (GER)
S. Kartal (GBR) vs [6] J. Tjen (INA)
[3] I. Jovic (USA) vs Qualifier
P. Udvardy (HUN) vs S. Bejlek (CZE)
Qualifier vs Qualifier
Qualifier vs [8] P. Stearns (USA)
[5] M. Linette (POL) vs [WC] V. Williams (USA)
A. Parks (USA) vs E. Cocciaretto (ITA)
C. Osorio (COL) vs P. Marcinko (CRO)
D. Vekic (CRO) vs [4] A. Eala (PHI)
[7] Xin. Wang (CHN) vs C. McNally (USA)
[WC] S. Stephens (USA) vs R. Zarazua (MEX)
Qualifier vs J. Grabher (AUT)
F. Jones (GBR) vs [2] E. Navarro (USA)
CENTRE COURT starts at 11.30am
[3] I. Jovic (USA) vs [Q] G. Knutson (CZE)
[7] Xin. Wang (CHN) vs C. McNally (USA)
After suitable rest A. Eala (PHI) / I. Jovic (USA) vs [WC] E. Svitolina (UKR) / V. Williams (USA)
Night session - not before 6:00 PM
F. Jones (GBR) vs [2] E. Navarro (USA)
[WC] S. Stephens (USA) vs R. Zarazua (MEX)
GRANDSTAND Court - starts at 11.30am
P. Udvardy (HUN) vs S. Bejlek (CZE)
[Q] S. Costoulas (BEL) vs [Q] W. Osuigwe (USA)
[Q] K. Quevedo (ESP) vs [8] P. Stearns (USA)
[Q] S. Kraus (AUT) vs J. Grabher (AUT)
COURT 1 starts at 11.30am
Haverlag (NED) / M. Lumsden (GBR) vs I. Martins (BRA) / L. Pigossi (BRA)
S. Santamaria (USA) / Q. Tang (CHN) vs S. Aoyama (JPN) / M. Linette (POL)
[3] Y. Xu (CHN) / Z. Yang (CHN) vs [WC] M. Barry (NZL) / E. Tse (NZL)
Michael Burgess has been a Sports Journalist for the New Zealand Herald since 2005, covering the Olympics, Fifa World Cups, and America’s Cup campaigns. He is a co-host of the Big League podcast.