Why is Venus Williams still out there swinging a racket?

Why can’t one of the most important players in the history of the game fade gracefully into the record books? Why is the 45-year-old back on the court battling players half her age instead of celebrating her recent engagement on the Amalfi Coast. Why does she keep hanging on?

The answer is simple: Because she wants to.

I don’t care if Williams, ranked 610 in the world, doesn’t win a point in her first-round match against 11th-seeded Karolina Muchova on Monday night at the U.S. Open. I don’t buy the ridiculous notion that Venus’ wild-card invitation hurts a younger player who is more deserving. (Seriously, is there anyone in tennis more deserving?)

If Williams wants to keep playing tennis into her 50s, she has more than earned the

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