Auckland Open: Venus Williams Goes Down in Three Sets in 2026 Season Opener

Despite being 45 years young, the fighting spirit displayed by Venus Williams was quite amazing, but in the end, she lost to fifth seed Magda Linette in the Auckland Open WTA tennis tournament. In her first singles match in 2026, Venus started quite well but subsequently lost to 52nd seed Linette with a result of 6-4, 4-6, 6-2.

Linette was only two years of age when Venus staged her first singles outing on the professional circuit. Tuesday’s outing was Williams’ 1101st singles career outing on the WTA Tour. The threat she carries with her, pitted against a player 12 years her junior, will certainly lift her spirits up ahead of her trip to Australia, where she will compete in the Hobart International and Australian Open tournaments.

Seven-time Grand Slam champion Venus has received wildcard entry into the Auckland Open, the Hobart tournament starting January 12th, and the Australian Open, the first Grand Slam tournament of the year. The Australian Open begins on January 18th. This match in Auckland was Venus's first singles match since losing to Karolina Muchova 6-3, 2-6, 5-1 in the first round of the US Open last August. Venus had previously played a doubles match with Auckland Open top seed Elina Svitolina on Monday, losing 7-6 (7), 6-1 to Eva Jovic and Aleksandra Eala.