After Madrid loss, Venus Williams wants to 'keep it going on the clay'

Author: Brad Kallet

2m read 22 Apr 2026 6h ago

Photo by Mateo Villalba/Getty Images

Summary

Venus Williams won't be in Rome for the Internazionali BNL d'Italia, but she's hoping to continue her clay-court season. The 45-year-old, who lost to Kaitlin Quevedo in Madrid on Tuesday, would need a wild card to play the French Open.

highlights

Spanish wild card Quevedo bests Venus Williams in Madrid opener

04:18

Venus Williams isn't planning to go one and done on the clay.

The 45-year-old, who lost her first-round match at the Mutua Madrid Open on Tuesday, told reporters that she hopes to play another tournament during the clay-court swing.

She said she won't be in Rome for the Internazionali BNL d'Italia in two weeks, which means a return to the French Open is most likely. (She would need to receive a wild card into the main draw.)

"To get my feet dirty, this was a great start," the seven-time Grand Slam singles champion said after her 6-2, 6-4 loss to Spanish wild card Kaitlin Quevedo. "I'm not able to play Rome. I have other commitments, unfortunately, so I'm really sad about that. My husband is Italian, so we feel sad that we can't be there. So we would love to keep it going on the clay."

Williams, currently ranked No. 479 in the PIF WTA Rankings, has lost all seven of her WTA Tour Driven by Mercedes-Benz matches this year. Her most recent win came over Peyton Stearns last summer at the Mubadala Citi DC Open, when she returned to the tour after 16 months away.

The loss to Quevedo was Williams' first match on clay since the 2021 French Open, when she lost in the first round to Ekaterina Alexandrova.

Williams said she started to find her footing on the clay at the end of the match on Tuesday, and though it was tough to make the adjustment, it's a surface that she's generally enjoyed playing on throughout her career.

"Yeah, I felt like in the last game I started to move better on the clay," the former French Open finalist said. "But then it was the last game. All these things take adjustments. I started my practice on clay a couple weeks after Miami. I haven't really played on clay in years. But I enjoy the clay. It's fun. I played against a very inspired opponent today."

Williams' week in Madrid isn't over yet, though. She's also in the doubles draw, playing with Britain's Katie Boulter. Their first match is on Friday, against Jiang Xinyu and Xu Yifan.