Venus Williams lost her 10th consecutive singles match at the Madrid Open.
Williams is a former Madrid Open finalist, but she had not played a clay court match since the 2021 French Open before returning to the Spanish capital.
After receiving a wildcard for the Madrid Open this year, Williams was beaten in the first round by 20-year-old Kaitlin Quevedo 6-2, 6-4.
Williams has not won a match since the Washington Open in July last year, and she has now revealed her plans going forward.
Venus Williams says she ‘would love’ to keep playing on clay
Williams is on the longest losing streak of her entire career, but she still appeared positive about her first round performance in Madrid in her post-match press conference.
The 45-year-old was also asked about her plans for the clay court season going forward.
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Williams explained that she would have liked to play the Italian Open, but due to being the co-chair for the Met Gala she is unable to.
However, Williams explained that she would love to keep playing on clay, suggesting that she would like to play at the French Open.
“Yeah, I mean, to get my feet dirty, this was a great start,” said the seven-time Grand Slam singles champion.
“I’m not able to play Rome, I have other commitments, unfortunately, so I’m really super sad about that, actually. My husband is Italian, so we feel sad that we can’t be there. So we would love to keep it going on the clay.”
Williams later added, “All these things take adjustments. I started my practice on clay a couple weeks after Miami. I haven’t really played on clay in years. But I enjoy the clay, it’s fun. I played against a very inspired opponent today.”
What happened the last time Venus Williams played the French Open?
Venus Williams is a former French Open finalist, having been beaten by her younger sister Serena in the 2002 final.
However, it has been five years since Venus played at the Paris major, with her last appearance coming at the 2021 tournament.
This is where Williams lost in the first round against 32nd seed Ekaterina Alexandrova, winning just four games in the match.
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It has been even longer since Williams won her last match at the French Open, which came in 2017 when she reached the fourth round.
As the world number 479, Williams would require a wildcard if she wants to play the French Open, which begins on Sunday, May 24.
Williams still has some tennis to play at the Madrid Open, as she is in the doubles draw with British player Katie Boulter.
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