Venus Williams’ Indian Wells comeback stalls with three-set first-round defeat

Venus Williams prepares to serve during her first-round loss to Diane Parry at Indian Wells.

Venus Williams was knocked out in the first round of the BNP Paribas Open at Indian Wells, losing in three sets to France’s Diane Parry. The 45-year-old American fell 6-3, 6-7 (4), 6-1 in a match that extended her run of tour-level defeats. She had entered the tournament with a wild card into both the singles and doubles draws.

​

Williams dropped the opening set as Parry controlled baseline exchanges and capitalized on short balls. The former world number one responded in the second set, raising her level on serve and taking more initiative off the return. She forced a tiebreak and edged it to push the contest into a deciding set.

​

Parry quickly reasserted herself in the third, breaking early and using heavy topspin to move Williams around the court. The 23-year-old, ranked just outside the top 100, closed out the match as errors crept back into the veteran’s game. The result extended Williams’ losing streak on the WTA Tour to eight matches, with her last win coming during her initial comeback in Washington last year.

​

Indian Wells marked Williams’ 10th career appearance at the event and her first since 2024, when she also exited in the opening round as a wild card. She had turned down a wild card invitation in 2025 before accepting this year’s spot in the field. Ahead of the tournament, she had spoken of her excitement at returning to play in California and competing again in front of home fans.

​

Williams’ 2026 season has included early defeats at the Australian Open in both singles and doubles, where she set a record as the oldest woman to compete in the singles main draw. She also accepted a wild card into the ATX Open in Austin but lost in the first round to Ajla Tomljanovic. Her latest setback in Indian Wells reinforces the challenge of sustaining results at tour level as she continues her extended career