Venus Williams, 45, Partners With Hailey Baptiste for French Open Doubles

PARIS -- Venus Williams will play in the women's doubles at the French Open this month together with Hailey Baptiste , who is 21 years her junior.

The American pair were among the entrants confirmed Wednesday by organizers for the clay-court tournament at Roland-Garros, which begins on May 24 in western Paris.

The 45-year-old Williams will not play in the women's singles.

Williams was a wild-card entry at the Australian Open, where she lost in the first round and became the oldest woman to compete in an Australian Open singles main draw.

A seven-time major winner in singles, Williams previously held the No. 1 ranking in both singles and doubles.

Williams lost the French Open singles final to her younger sister Serena in 2002 and they twice won the French Open doubles title together, in 1999 and 2010.

_Originally reported by [ESPN](https://www.espn.com/tennis/story/_/id/48759765/45-year-old-venus-williams-play-french-open-doubles)._