NEW YORK — It's a given that much of the coverage and attention devoted to Venus Williams' return to the U.S. Open, where play begins Sunday, has focused — and will focus — on how old she is. The American is, after all, 45, an age at which no one has competed in singles in New York since 1981.
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Photos: Venus and Serena Williams through the years
Venus Williams, right, and her sister Serena pose for the cameras at Eastbourne, Monday June 16, 1997 during the Direct Line Ladies Tennis Championships. Williams wanted as much grass-court play as possible before Wimbledon. She's getting it. Williams, the 16-year-old American preparing for her first appearance at the All England Club, turned down a wild card at the Eastbourne tournament in order to play in the qualifying rounds. (AP Photo/str)
FILE - In this Jan. 21, 1998, file photo, Venus Williams, left, and sister Serena raise their arms after their center court match at the Australian Open Tennis Championships in Melbourne, Australia. Venus won the match 7-6, 6-1. Back when Serena Williams, then 16, and Venus Williams, then 17, played each other on tour for the very first time in January 1998, no one possibly could have known it would signal the start of a series that would last for two decades. (AP Photo/Rick Stevens, File)
American tennis sisters Venus (left, rear) and Serena Williams raise their arms after their center court match at the Australian Open Tennis Championships in Melbourne, Australia, Wednesday, January 21, 1998. Venus won the match 7-6, 6-1. (AP Photo/Steve Holland)
Japanese doubles pair, Nana Miyagi, left, and Naoko Kijimuta, second from left, shake hands with American pair Serena Williams, right, and her sister Venus after the Japanese pair won the match 6-3, 6-3, at the Australian Open Tennis Championships in Melbourne Monday, January 26, 1998. (AP Photo/Russell McPhedran)
FILE - In this June 2, 1999, file photo, Venus Williams, left, and her sister Serena Williams share a light moment during their doubles tennis match against Els Callens of Belgium and Rita Grande of Italy at the French Open tennis tournament at Roland Garros stadium in Paris. (AP Photo/Laurent Rebours, File)
Venus, left, and Serena Williams hold their trophy after defeating Japan's Ai Sugiyama and Julie Halard Decugis of France, in the Women's Doubles final on Centre Court at Wimbledon Monday, July 10, 2000. (AP Photo/Dave Caulkin)
File-This Sept. 8, 2001, file photo shows Venus Williams admiring her trophy as sister Serena, left, looks on after Venus won the final of the US Open in New York. (AP Photo/Richard Drew, File)
Venus, right, and Serena Williams chat on a practice court prior to their women's singles final at the U.S. Open in New York Saturday Sept. 8, 2001. (AP Photo/Mark Lennihan)
FILE - In this June 8, 2002, file photo, Serena Williams, left, and her sister Venus hold their trophies after the women's final of the French Open tennis tournament at Roland Garros stadium in Paris. Serena won 7-5, 6-3. (AP Photo/Francois Mori, File)
FILE - In this Sept. 7, 2002, file photo, Serena Williams, right, holds up her winning trophy next to her sister Venus Williams who holds on to her second place trophy after finishing the women's final at the U.S. Open tennis tournament in New York. Venus and Serena Williams have been a nearly constant presence at the U.S. Open since the debut of Arthur Ashe stadium 21 years ago. Their 30 combined Grand Slam singles titles have left a mark on aspiring young players and the tennis landscape.(AP Photo/Elise Amendola, File)
Sisters Serena Williams and Venus Williams of the U.S. team congratulate one another after defeating the Czech Republic in doubles, 6-0, 6-1 in a Fed Cup match in Lowell, Mass., Sunday, April 27, 2003. (AP Photo/Jim Rogash)
Tennis players Serena Williams, left, and her sister Venus stand on the stage as the guests applaud, after a fashion show Wednesday, Dec. 15, 2004 in Miami Beach, Fla. Serena Williams showed her newest collection from her ANERES line. (AP Photo/Alan Diaz)
Serena Williams, left, poses with her sister Venus, right, who wears an Olympic cap she designed for the 2004 summer Olympic games in Athens, Greece, Tuesday, June 15, 2004, in New York. (AP Photo/Kathy Willens)
Tennis stars Venus, right, and Serena Williams sit in the stands before the Marc Jacobs Spring/Summer '06 show during Fashion Week, Monday, Sept. 12, 2005 in New York. (AP Photo/Jeff Christensen)
FILE - In this Sept. 3, 2005 file photo, the United States' Serena, left, and Venus Williams arrive to practice at the US Open tennis tournament in New York. (AP Photo/Amy Sancetta, File)
Serena, left, and Venus Williams use over-sized rackets as they hit tennis balls in a demonstration at Seattle's T.T. Minor Elementary School while on a visit there Thursday, Nov. 17, 2005. Having completed rehabilitation on knee injuries that ended their 2005 seasons, the sisters kickoff a four-city exhibition tour Thursday night in Seattle, with their sights set on the 2006 season. (AP Photo/Elaine Thompson)
U.S. tennis stars Serena Williams and her sister Venus walk together after their practice session in the preparation for the next week's Australian Open tennis championships in Melbourne beginning Jan. 17, at Melbourne Park in Melbourne, Australia, Saturday Jan. 15, 2005. (AP Photo/Shuji Kajiyama)
Venus Williams, left, and her sister, Serena, walk off the court after Venus defeated Serena 6-1, 7-6 (8) at the Nasdaq 100 Open in Key Biscayne, Fla., Tuesday, March 29, 2005. (AP Photo/Wilfredo Lee)
Venus and Serena Williams are escorted by Ronald McDonald before an exhibition game at the MCI Center, Thursday, Dec. 8, 2005, in Washington. The women played against each other in an exhibition match to raise money for the local Ronald McDonald House and raised $30,000. (AP Photo/Lawrence Jackson)
Serena Williams, and Venus Williams look at a document in court Tuesday, Dec. 6, 2005, in West Palm Beach, Fla. Serena and Venus Williams and their father, Richard Williams, are being sued by promoters who say they reneged on a contract to play in a proposed "Battle of Sexes" tennis match in 2001. (AP Photo/Greg Lovett, POOL)
Venus, left, and Serena Williams are joined by the students as they gather for a group photo at the SE Tennis and Learning Center on Thursday, Dec. 8, 2005 in Washington. (AP Photo/Kevin Wolf)
Serena Williams, left, and her sister Venus celebrate after their win in the Women's Doubles final against Australia's Samantha Stosur and Lisa Raymond of the US on the Centre Court at Wimbledon, Saturday, July 5, 2008. (AP Photo/Alastair Grant)
American tennis players Serena Williams, left, and her sister Venus Williams sport saris, traditional Indian dress for women, as they stand on the ramp during a show organized for the upcoming Bangalore Open 2008 tournament in Bangalore, India, Sunday, March 2, 2008. (AP Photo/Aijaz Rahi)
Serena, left, and Venus Williams of the United States display the gold medals won in women's doubles tennis at the Beijing 2008 Olympics in Beijing, in this Aug. 17, 2008 file photo. (AP Photo/Elise Amendola, File)
Serena, left, and Venus Williams of the United States in action against Ai Sugiyama of Japan and Katarina Srebotnik of Slovenia during their Women's Doubles second round match at the Australian Open tennis championships in Melbourne, Australia, Friday, Jan. 18, 2008. (AP Photo/Mark Baker)
Serena, right, and Venus Williams of the United States celebrate after beating Ai Sugiyama of Japan and Katarina Srebotnik of Slovenia during their Women's Doubles second round match at the Australian Open tennis championships in Melbourne, Australia, Friday, Jan. 18, 2008. (AP Photo/Mark Baker)
Serena and Venus Williams of the United States react after they beat Anabel Medina Garrigues and Virginia Ruano Pascual of Spain 6-2, 6-0 during their Gold medal doubles match of the Beijing 2008 Olympics in Beijing, Sunday, Aug. 17, 2008. (AP Photo/Charles Krupa)
Serena Williams, left, and her sister Venus of the United States celebrate after beating Japan's Ai Sugiyama and Daniela Hantuchova of Slovakia in the Women's doubles final at the Australian Open Tennis Championship in Melbourne, Australia, Friday, Jan. 30, 2009. (AP Photo/Mark Baker)
Serena Williams, left, of the United States and her sister Venus talk after beating Japan's Ai Sugiyama and Daniela Hantuchova of Slovakia in the Women's doubles final at the Australian Open Tennis Championship in Melbourne, Australia, Friday, Jan. 30, 2009. (AP Photo/Shuji Kajiyama)
Serena Williams, right and sister Venus, left during their doubles match against Virginie Razzano and Aravane Rezai at Wimbledon, Thursday, June 25, 2009. (AP Photo/Anja Niedringhaus)
Serena and Venus Williams announces the tennis stars had become minority owners of the team during a press conference at the Miami Dolphins training complex in Davie, Fla. Tuesday, Aug. 25, 2009. (AP Photo/J Pat Carter)
Serena Williams of the United States, left, shakes hands with her sister Venus Williams of the United States, right, after Serena won their singles match at the WTA Tennis Championships, in Doha, Qatar Wednesday, Oct. 28, 2009. (AP Photo/Kirsty Wigglesworth)
FILE - In this March 2, 2009, file photo, Billie Jean King is flanked by Venus, left, and Serena Williams after Serena defeated Venus in the championship match of the Billie Jean King Cup tennis exhibition, at Madison Square Garden in New York. Venus and Serena Williams are adding their names and voices to the push for equal pay championed by the Billie Jean King Leadership Initiative. The two current tennis stars are joining the advisory board of the group founded by the former player. (AP Photo/Stephen Chernin, File)
Venus Williams, left, and her sister Serena, of the United States, smile during a press conference to present Saturday's exhibition match against Italy's Flavia Pennetta and Francesca Schiavone in Milan, Italy, Friday, Dec. 2, 2011. (AP Photo/Antonio Calanni)
FILE -- In this file photo, taken on Aug. 5, 2012, at the London Summer Olympics, Serena Williams, left, and Venus Williams of the United States celebrate on podium after receiving their gold medals in women's doubles. (AP Photo/Elise Amendola)
Venus Williams, left, and Serena Williams rest between games against Lucie Hradecka, of the Czech Republic, and Andrea Hlavackova, of the Czech Republic, during the women's doubles semifinals of the 2013 U.S. Open tennis tournament, Friday, Sept. 6, 2013, in New York. (AP Photo/Darron Cummings)
Serena Williams, left, and Venus Williams prepare to take the court for a double match against Oksana Kalashnikova and Olga Savchuk at the 2014 U.S. Open tennis tournament, Friday, Aug. 29, 2014, in New York. (AP Photo/Elise Amendola)
Serena Williams, left, reacts after a shot to Venus Williams during a quarterfinal match at the U.S. Open tennis tournament, Tuesday, Sept. 8, 2015, in New York. (AP Photo/Julio Cortez)
Venus Williams, left, and Serena Williams, attend the 2015 Sports Illustrated Sportsperson of the Year Awards at Pier Sixty at Chelsea Piers on Tuesday, Dec.15, 2015, in New York. (Photo by Andy Kropa/Invision/AP)
Venus Williams of the United States, left, helps her sister Serena Williams adjust her hair before a practice session on the central court ahead of the upcoming 2016 Summer Olympics in Rio de Janeiro, Brazil, Wednesday, Aug. 3, 2016. (AP Photo/Vadim Ghirda)
Venus Williams, left, and sister Serena smile as they watch a performance by the Compton Sounders drill team during a dedication ceremony of the Lueders Park tennis courts Saturday, Nov. 12, 2016, in Compton, Calif. The courts were dedicated in their name. (AP Photo/Jae C. Hong)
United States' Serena Williams, right, celebrates after defeating her sister, Venus, left, in the women's singles final at the Australian Open tennis championships in Melbourne, Australia, Saturday, Jan. 28, 2017. (AP Photo/Andy Brownbill)
United States' Venus Williams, rear, embraces her sister Serena after Serena won the women's singles final at the Australian Open tennis championships in Melbourne, Australia, Saturday, Jan. 28, 2017. (Jack Thomas/Pool via AP)
