INDIAN WELLS, Calif. — Venus Williams lost again in her return to the BNP Paribas Open, falling in the first round Thursday, 6-3, 6-7 (4), 6-1 to Diane Parry of France.
The 45-year-old Williams, who has dropped her past eight WTA singles matches, received a wild card into the singles and doubles draws for the tournament in the Southern California desert. It came 30 years after she made her Indian Wells debut in 1996 when she was 15.
After Williams rallied in the second set to tie it, the 23-year-old Parry, ranked 111th in the world, took control and cruised in the third.
It was Williams’ 10th career appearance in the tournament and first since 2024, when she also lost in the first round as a wild card. The seven-time major winner was given a wild card last year but didn’t accept it.
“Of course losing isn’t fun, but it’s great to play in front of a home crowd,” the Southern California native said. “They were behind me the whole way, and that was really fun for that.
“I have amazing fans that believe in me and it’s fun to play for them, or even in practice when they come out. It’s very thrilling. Yeah, today was a tough one, but that’s sport and that’s life, and I’ll take what I need from it.”
Parry will face 15th-ranked American Madison Keys in the second round Saturday.
Williams entered the BNP Paribas Open having lost her previous seven matches, with the only win in her comeback to the tour coming in her return at Washington last year.
She competed in the Australian Open in January and lost in the first round in both singles and doubles. Williams was the oldest woman to compete in an Australian Open singles main draw, surpassing the mark set by Japan’s Kimiko Date, who was 44 when she lost in the first round in 2015.
Williams most recently participated in the ATX Open in Austin, Texas, last month as a wild-card entry and lost in the first round of singles to Ajla Tomljanovic.