Venus Williams dodges hours of retirement questions after Serena 'vague' about future of tennis

Venus Williams has dodged questions about a possible retirement after her first-round loss at the US Open. Her sister Serena has previously announced that she will be 'getting away from tennis', but the seven-time Major champion declined to comment on whether she would do the same, just a day after Serena remained vague about her own retirement.

Venus fell in the first round of the women's singles draw at the US Open on Tuesday, losing 6-1 7-6(5) to world No. 43 Alison Van Uytvanck. The former two-time Flushing Meadows champion looked like herself at times in the second set, but was edged out by the Belgian as many wondered if the 42-year-old had played her last singles match.

The former world No. 1 has barely competed in the last 12 months - having only appeared in four tournaments since September 2021, including this year's US Open. And after her younger sister Serena announced her upcoming retirement, there was constant speculation that Venus would hang up her racket as well.

But fans were still left unanswered after the 49-time title winner's early exit at Flushing Meadows, as Williams' older sister dodged questions about whether she would also be retiring. Asked about her plans after the US Open and the possibility of retiring, Venus simply replied, "Right now I'm just focusing on doubles."

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The Williams sisters will team up in the women's doubles draw at the US Open after earning a wildcard as part of Serena's farewell, referenced by Venus. And the seven-time Grand Slam champion's tentative response comes after the 40-year-old also remained 'vague' about her own retirement, having yet to confirm the US Open is her final event despite the fact that she no longer has any on her calendar and that she received a farewell ceremony to honor her career.

The 23-time major champion was asked if this US Open was definitely the last tournament of her career after announcing her decision to "step away from tennis", but she refused to give a guarantee, answering: "Yeah, I was pretty vague about that, right? I'll keep it vague, because you never know.”

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Whether or not her home Grand Slam is her last event, the younger Williams sister has guaranteed that her career will continue after