Venus Williams returning to the court for a practice session in Rome has sparked discussions among fans. The American’s only outing this year has come at the Sunshine Double.

Williams has been struggling with injury and form issues for some time. She injured her right knee in her first-round match against Elina Svitolina at the 2023 Wimbledon Championships. Since then, the American hasn’t been entering tournaments on a consistent basis.

In 2024, the 44-year-old has only managed to play at the Sunshine Double – the Indian Wells Masters and the Miami Open. She had a disastrous outing as she was knocked out in the opening round of both tournaments, to Nao Hibino and Diana Shnaider respectively. It is interesting to note that she received a wildcard to enter the main draws of both tournaments.

However, ahead of the North American hard court swing, Venus Williams was spotted training in Rome.

Fans, however, were not delighted at the possibility of the seven-time Grand Slam champion returning to the court. A fan wanted Venus Williams to retire immediately and was completely against the possibility of her getting a wildcard for the 2024 US Open.

“Just hang [up] that racket for God’s sake and don’t you dare take a USO WC [US Open wildcard].”

Another angry fan said that the American would take up wildcards and retire mid-way through a match.

“So she can burn some more wildcards and get strapped up mid game while losing.”

Here are some reactions from other fans.

“TRAINING FOR WHAT,” a fan questioned.

“Will she win? Most likely not. Will I still torture myself and watch? YES!” a fan joked.

“Not the slow run to the net,” a fan mentioned.

“It’s giving country club granny,” another fan joked.

“Venus Williams loves to play, it’s must-see TV”- Williams sisters’ former coach opened up on when the American should retire

Serena and Venus Williams’ former coach Rick Macci appeared on an episode of ‘Match Point Canada’ in November last year. He opened up on the talks revolving around the right time for Venus to retire. Macci said that though it may be hard for athletes to hang up their boots, the decision is completely up to them.

However, the 69-year-old stated that Venus still provided must-see TV and was loved by tennis fans. He claimed that Venus would retire on her own terms.

“As you know any athlete when they get to the fourth quarter or the back nine, it’s hard to hang it up. Football, baseball, hockey, you know, when your skills maybe diminish a little bit. But, it’s their decision. You can’t listen to say, ‘you are not as quick as you were, not as fast.’ That time will come. She loves to play. It’s must-see TV. Everybody loves V [Venus Williams]. She is gonna do it when she wants to.”

Venus Williams’ last Grand Slam triumph came at Wimbledon 2008 where she defeated Serena Williams, and her last final was at Wimbledon 2017 where she lost to Garbine Muguruza.