After more than a year away from competitive tennis, Venus Williams is slowly working her way back to the courts, and she’s doing so with a surprising musical spark from none other than Italian tennis star Jannik Sinner.
The seven-time Grand Slam singles champion recently shared glimpses of her latest training session, which was soundtracked by Polvere e Gloria (Dust and Glory), a single that was born out of a collaboration between Sinner and opera icon Andrea Bocelli.
Venus Williams Has Been Away From WTA Tour for Over a Year
The American tennis icon, who has been missing in action since her early exit at the 2024 Miami Open, sparked a wave of excitement among fans when she posted videos and photos of herself training on a hard court. Dressed in full gear, she could be seen pushing herself on the court as she drilled her groundstrokes.
The practice clips were soundtracked by Polvere e Gloria (Dust and Glory), and Williams even tagged Sinner on her Instagram stories. The 45-year-old shared specific segments of the song featuring Sinner’s spoken verses. In her first Instagram Story, she included the line: “In our lives, there will always be many first times. All you have to do is to be yourself.”
Her second Story featured the quotes: “If you work, you will rise higher,” and “The one who works is the talented one.” She added a single-word caption, “Working,” to this Story. In her final Story, the American star featured words these words from Sinner: “Improve every day, that’s the most important thing. Talent doesn’t exist, it has to be earned.” She also added a single-word caption to this Story: “Improving.”
Williams’s return to practice courts comes at a time when her competitive future has remained uncertain. Once a constant presence in the WTA rankings for nearly three decades, the 45-year-old has now dropped off the list entirely after failing to compete for more than 52 weeks. Her last official match was a straight-sets loss to Diana Shnaider in Miami in March 2024.
🐺 Diana Shnaider earns her maiden win at the #MiamiOpen, beating the legend Venus Williams 6-3, 6-3!
Faces another American next in Madison Keys. pic.twitter.com/BrNhwUI4d7
— Tennis Channel (@TennisChannel) March 19, 2024
Since then, speculation around her retirement gained momentum, especially after organizers at the 2025 Indian Wells Masters announced that she had been given a wildcard place in the draw, but Williams reportedly turned this down. In October 2024, she clarified that retirement wasn’t on her mind. However, since then, she has only been seen in a handful of casual practice sessions and has not formally returned to competitive play.
Venus Williams Clears the Air on Retirement Speculation
During the 2025 Miami Open, Williams hit the practice courts with Ons Jabeur and uploaded a behind-the-scenes video to her YouTube channel. In the interview, she tackled retirement speculation and explained that she no longer makes long-term plans and would only compete when she feels motivated.
“I really don’t have a plan for the first time in my life,” the 14-time women’s doubles Grand Slam champion said. “As an athlete and a player, there’s a whole plan, I’m going to play this tournament and play these tournaments so I can be ready for that tournament. And now, it’s like, I love playing, I’m going to play every day, and if I feel ready to play, then I’ll play,” Williams said.
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