Venus Williams will play an astonishing 24th Wimbledon this year, with her longevity in the sport unrivalled.
To put that into context, number one seed Iga Swiatek was not even born when the older Williams sister won her first Wimbledon title in 2000.
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She is now 43 and even though results are understandably not the same as they once were… she shows no signs of giving up professional tennis just yet.
Williams grew up in Compton, California, where she and sister Serena were coached by her father Richard before the whole family relocated to Florida to join the Rick Macci academy.
Her professional debut came when she was just 14 in 1994, but did not play in her first Grand Slam until 1997.
That first Grand Slam title came in 2000 at Wimbledon while she was still just a teenager and went on to win the US Open that same year.
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Her career has also been defined by her rivalry and partnership with sister Serena, with the pair having played in nine Grand Slam finals.
Serena leads that battle 7-2, but their record in doubles is unrivalled. They have won 14 doubles Grand Slam titles, undefeated in every final they have played.
Venus has also won four gold medals at the Olympics in two in 2000 and more in 2008 and 2012.
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Her endeavours on the court are well known with 23 Grand Slam titles across singles, doubles and mixed doubles.
Venus is a five time Wimbledon singles champion and an all-round legend of the game.
However, there is more that she has been battling in order to continue playing tennis for so long.
In 2011, she was diagnosed with Sjogren’s Syndrome, which causes joint pain and fatigue. It is an autoimmune disease that threatened her career.
Venus explained to Insider: “Living with an autoimmune disease, things can get a little tricky and you can be on loads of medicine, and that’s not something that I want to do.
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“So to be able to control as much as I can — what’s happening in my body, my inflammation levels — through what I eat is a godsend.
“Plant-based definitely changed my life.”
Sister Serena retired from the sport at the US Open last year in a glorious farewell after a record-breaking career.
Venus appears to be unwilling to give up professional sport just yet and rightly rewarded with a wildcard for Wimbledon.
Her message on Instagram in the lead up to Wimbledon was not the message of someone with retirement on her mind.
She wrote: “The best news is I walked off the court yesterday not hurt and not even sore after a long match and a string of really challenging injuries which means I have a chance to build on yesterday’s performance in my next events.
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“It’s not easy to continue to come back after unexpected injuries and delays but that’s life and I love what I do and I believe in what I am doing.”
Venus Williams has been drawn against Ukrainian Elina Svitolina in the first round at Wimbledon.
