Venus Williams is far from stopping. The 38-year-old is planning to compete at the 2020 Olympic Games in Tokyo.
When Venus Williams took his first serious steps on the professional tour at the age of 15 in 1995, Helmut Kohl was Chancellor of the Federal Republic of Germany, Michael Schumacher won his second of a total of seven Formula 1 World Championships – and the metal industry introduced the 35-hour week (with flexible regulations).
A felt eternity later Venus Williams still has concrete ideas when it comes to her sporting future. The former world number one, currently number 14 in the WTA classification, plans to start in Tokyo in two years. As a 40-year-old. It would be the sixth Olympic participation of the seven-time Grand Slam winner, who has so far won four gold medals at summer games. She has had Sjögren’s syndrome, a chronic autoimmune disease diagnosed in 2011, under control for some time.
“My goal is to take part in the Olympics once more. It’s such a beautiful event,” said Venus Williams before she started at next week’s Premier Tournament in San Jose, California, looking at Tokyo: “I hope to be there and it will be another highlight of my career.
Venus Williams won gold in singles and doubles in Sydney in 2000. Together with her younger sister Serena, she also won the double competition in Beijing in 2008 and London in 2012.