An emotional Venus Williams was non-committal about her future on Monday after the 45-year-old battled bravely before suffering a first-round defeat at the US Open.

The American former world number one delighted a packed house on the Arthur Ashe Stadium court with a gutsy 6-3, 2-6, 6-1 defeat to Czech 11th seed Karolina Muchova.

Williams only returned to competitive tennis in July following a 16-month absence from the sport and was granted a wild card into the main draw at Flushing Meadows, a decision that met with criticism in some quarters.

Yet she did enough against her 29-year-old opponent — who was not even born when Williams turned professional in 1994 — to more than justify the decision to give her a place in the main draw.

Williams said she does not expect to play again this ye

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