Former World No.1 and seven-time Grand Slam champion Venus Williams will play her first singles match in nearly 12 months at the National Bank Open after being awarded a wild card into the main draw. Williams’ most recent singles outing was at the Chicago Women’s Open last August, where she suffered a defeat in the first round to Hsieh Su-Wei. Her last singles win came against Mihaela Buzarnescu at Wimbledon 2021. “I’m so excited to be back playing the National Bank Open presented by Rogers. I love the city, the tournament, and I look forward to being back in Toronto,” said Williams in an official statement released by National Bank Open. She holds a 2-7 record in Toronto, with her best performance to date being a third-round showing in 2017. However, she was the 2014 runner-up to Agnieszka Radwanska in Montreal. Venus will join sister Serena, who entered using her saved ranking, in the court, along with 2019 champion Bianca Andreescu, who has also accepted a wild card, and a full Top 10 slate led by World No.1 Iga Swiatek.