Venus Williams Will Play in French Open for First Time in 5 Years

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Venus Williams is rallying for a return to the French Open.

After five years away from Roland-Garros, the 45-year-old will play women’s doubles at this year’s tournament alongside 24-year-old Hailey Baptiste. She will not be playing singles at the event, which begins May 24, per the Associated Press.

Since last year, Venus has been quite active on the court. “There is no doubt I can play tennis,” she told the Wall Street Journal in July, "but obviously coming back to play matches, it takes time to get in the swing of things. I definitely feel I’ll play well. I’m still the same player.”

After a busy month for Venus—who served as co-chair at this year’s Met Gala—the French Open marks another milestone for the tennis star, who became the oldest woman to compete in a singles main draw at the Australian Open in January. She has previously won two women's doubles titles at Roland-Garros in 1999 and 2010. 

And that’s not the only big moment Venus has celebrated recently. She wed Italian actor and producer Andrea Preti, 37, in a five-day bash in Palm Beach, Fla., last December. But before the dayslong event, the couple had a lowkey ceremony in Ischia, Italy. 

“We had this dream to do our wedding in Italy,” the Olympian told Vogue in an interview at the time. “But we didn’t have enough time to do the paperwork—because I’m a foreigner, it can take about eight months. So we decided to have a second wedding.”

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Although their initial plans didn’t pan out, Palm Beach was a sentimental choice for Venus, who began her tennis training there alongside her sister Serena Williams. With all of her loved ones nearby, the Florida nuptials ended up being a great choice for Venus.

“We all love each other so much,” she added. “It was just the happiest, most beautiful, sweetest day.”

Read on to learn more about the love lives of tennis stars…

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Ben Shelton

A new sporting power couple emerged when the tennis player and soccer star Trinity Rodman sealed their relationship with a kiss on Instagram in March 2025. 

And she's been a stalwart supporter throughout the Grand Slam tournaments, including slamming reporters who invoked her estranged dad Dennis Rodman by emphasizing the refocus on Shelton's successes at Wimbledon.

“For Ben’s matches he has his family there as his support system, which includes his dad,” Rodman wrote on her July 7 Instagram story, calling out the Wimbledon broadcasters for their commentary about her family. “My dads not even in MY life no need to bring him up during HIS matches when I don’t even want him talked about during mine.”

Instagram

Taylor Fritz

Fritz made his relationship with Morgan Riddle official in 2020 after first meeting on Raya, and the influencer has stood by her boyfriend’s side as he’s worked us way up the ATP rankings.

“I met him and started travelling with him on the tour a few months later,” she told E! News in 2024. “And now, it’s been almost four years of that.”

And the duo have often shared glimpses into their romance. In fact, Fritz—who was married to fellow tennis player Raquel Pedraza from 2016 to 2019 and welcomed son Jordan in 2017—and Riddle were featured on the Netflix series, Break Point, which explored the world of competitive tennis.  

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Coco Gauff

As of 2023, two-time grand slam champion was purposely keeping her love life private. 

“I think I felt like I just, some parts of myself I love to share and then some parts I think I just keep to myself,” she told People in March 2023. “So I do feel like my life is a little bit in my hands too.” 

Still, her boyfriend—whose fourth-grade teacher was coincidentally Gauff’s mom—has proven to be an important sounding board. “Last night, I started a little bit, but honestly, I just called my boyfriend,” Gauff told reporters about her 2023 US Open Win. “And I told him let’s talk until it’s time to go to sleep so we spoke until 1:00 am and then I went to sleep.”

Steve Granitz / FilmMagic / Alexander Tamargo / Getty Images for Lacoste

Grigor Dimitrov

Dimitrov and Eiza González made their relationship Instagram official in May 2025, just one month after sparking romance rumors. And since then, the Baby Driver star hasn’t held back in showing her support for the athlete throughout the ups and downs—including after having to Withdraw from the Wimbledon in early July 2025 due to a mid-match injury. 

“Love of my life. I couldn’t be more proud of you,” González wrote on her Instagram Story July 7. “This is just a moment that will pass and will make you even stronger. But watching you today alongside the world was a reminder of who YOU are. You’re a winner. We all saw it. And you’ll do it again. I love you.”

Instagram/@Katiecboulter

Alex De Minaur & Katie Boulter

After almost five years of dating, the tennis stars announced their engagement in 2024, with Boulter captioning the happy moment, “We’ve been keeping a small secret.” 

The pair met in 2020 at a hotel where they were both staying. “We bumped into each other at six in the morning and ended up getting a coffee,” Boulter recalled to the Sydney Morning Herald in June 2024. “From that moment, I knew I was in it for the long haul.”

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Naomi Osaka

In January 2025, the four-time grand slam champion her confirmed breakup with rapper Cordae after five years together. And while emphasizing that they remain friends, she expressed gratitude over their romance as it brought them their little girl Shai

“Honestly really glad that our paths crossed because my daughter is my biggest blessing,” Osaka wrote at the time. “And I was able to grow a lot from our experiences together.”

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Tommy Paul

Paul may have the skills on the court, but girlfriend Paige Lorenze, with whom he began dating in 2022, is a go-to coach when it comes to life outside the sport.

“She’s been on me about, I guess it’s self-care,” Paul told People in April 2025. “But just putting on more sunscreen and doing moisturizer at night.”

Still, Lorenze is no stranger to picking up a racket. “I’m not going to lie, I’m pretty impressed,” he gushed about his girlfriend’s tennis game. “She plays pretty good, she has the strokes down. She knows what she’s doing on the court.”

Gael Monfils/Instagram

Gael Monfils & Elina Svitolina

The tennis stars are in sync on and off the court. In fact, they met after Svitolina won the 2018 WTA Finals in Singapore before tying the knot in July 2021. A little over a year later, they welcomed their baby girl Skaï.

“I had the most amazing night of my life, which ended with the most beautiful girl around 6:00 am. Elina was strong and brave,” Monfils wrote on Instagram in October 2022. “I can’t thx enough, my wife, and God, for this special moment. Welcome to the world, my little princess Skaï.”

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