The BNP Paribas Open announced last Wednesday that Venus Williams received an invitation to compete in the tournament, which would be her first competition in nearly a year. However, the seven-time major champion has declined the invitation.

It turns out 44-year-old Venus Williams will not be playing at the BNP Paribas Open. The tournament in Indian Wells, California, revealed on Sunday that Williams won't play, days after it announced she would be competing there as a wild card.

Venus Williams confirms she did not accept the wild card to play Indian Wells: "I'm not playing. I found out about the wild card when you guys did. Just saying. I love Indian Wells, I would love to be there and if I could have accepted it, I would have been like, yes. But I… pic.twitter.com/y3CXDUKquL

Venus Williams will not be playing at the BNP Paribas Open in Indian Wells, Calif., after all. The tournament announced on social media last week that it had granted Williams, 44, a wild-card entry into the event.

Former world No. 1 Venus Williams will not play at next month’s BNP Paribas Open in Indian Wells after declining her wild card invitation, the tournament announced on Sunday.

Tennis legend has other commitments overseas during the tournament, was caught off guard by the wild-card announcement

TENNIS icon Venus Williams will NOT play at Indian Wells this year – despite being announced as a wildcard. Last week, tournament directors announced that Williams would be returning to

Tennis legend Venus Williams has received a wild card entry for next month’s BNP Paribas Open in Indian Wells, in what would be the 44-year-old’s first event in almost a year.

"Our team has been informed that Venus is not accepting the wildcard this year," the event posted on X in a statement attributed to tournament director Tommy Haas. "We wish Venus all the best and hope to see her back in Indian Wells in the future.