Venus Williams is still searching for her first tour-level singles match win of the season despite receiving wildcard entries into all 10 events she has played in 2026. Her struggles continued at the Canadian Open as the American crashed out of the WTA 1000 event in the first round.
Williams’ early exit in Toronto has reignited discourse about her decision to continue competing in singles and brought renewed scrutiny over the wildcards she receives at this stage of her career.
Tennis Fans React to Venus Williams’ Early Exit at the Canadian Open
Williams was recently in action at the Mubadala DC Open, where she suffered a 6-3, 6-3 loss to Anastasia Potapova in the first round of the singles event. After she and Diana Shnaider lost in the doubles quarterfinals, the former world No. 1 traveled to Toronto for the Canadian Open.
Williams locked horns with Kamilla Rakhimova in her opening match, with Rakhimova claiming a dominant 6-4, 6-1 victory to advance to the second round. The defeat left the American winless in singles this season with a 0-10 record and extended her losing streak to 13 matches. Her last, and only, singles victory since the start of 2025 came against Peyton Stearns at the DC Open.
Despite the loss, Williams enjoyed being back at the Canadian Open and outlined her mindset for the rest of the North American hardcourt swing, saying, “Yeah, just determination and just fighting, so it was really fun to be back after having not being here for a while.”
Fans, however, were far less enthusiastic, arguing that it was difficult to watch Williams suffer early exits while displaying little competitiveness and suggesting that it was time to retire.
“It’s honestly ridiculously at this point, matches aren’t even competitive,” one fan commented.
“I love Venus with all my heart but it’s breaking my heart watching all of these losses. 💔,” a fan wrote.
“They gotta stop letting Venus Williams play professional tennis. It’s becoming kind of sad to watch. Smoked by Rakhimova. Even the @ufc knew when to tell BJ Penn to take a hike. Legacy preservation should be taken seriously,” another fan said.
Others, meanwhile, questioned why Williams continued to receive wildcards, claiming she was only “wasting” them.
“And why do they continue to give her WC,” one fan questioned.
“She should have stopped playing 7 years ago. Ridiculous giving her wildcards,” another fan posted.
“Venus is my top 5 all time, but what are we doing at this point? Like what’s the purpose of wasting all these wildcards?” said another.
With the women’s singles wildcards for the Cincinnati Open yet to be announced, it remains to be seen whether Venus Williams will compete at the WTA 1000 event, which gets underway on August 13.
