Auckland, Nov 5 (UNI) Venus Williams has been awarded a wildcard for the Auckland Classic in January.

The 45-year-old, who has won seven Grand Slam singles titles, made her comeback in July after 16 months without competing, according to BBC news.

She defeated fellow American Peyton Stearns, then ranked 35th in the world, on her return at the Washington Open to become the second-oldest woman to win a WTA Tour-level singles match.

A month later, she was given a wildcard into the main draw of the US Open and impressed in her three-set loss to Czech 11th seed Karolina Muchova in the first round.

Nicolas Lamperin, tournament director of the Auckland Classic, said: “Venus has had a profound influence on the evolution of women’s tennis and has inspired the next generation with her unshake

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