Venus Williams pointed out that a lack of match practice meant she was always likely to start 2026 slowly after falling at the first hurdle at the Auckland Open.

Williams, 45, will become the oldest woman to ever participate in the main draw at the Australian Open later this month, after accepting a wildcard for the first grand slam of 2026.

She also accepted invitations to play the Auckland Open and Hobart international in the build-up to the Melbourne Park slam, but her campaign at the former event was short-lived.

Williams lost 6-4 4-6 6-2 to Magda Linette on Tuesday, but the seven-time major singles champion says any time she can spend on the court before the Australian Open will be beneficial.

"One of the biggest disadvantages for me is that everybody's played more matches than I have," Williams said.

"So when the season starts like it does in tennis, and the first thing is a grand slam, then you got to come out hot, and I think I did come out hot.

"My game is rocket fuel, so I have to figure out how not to do too much and then not to do too little. It's not always easy, but I'm happy with a lot of the things that I did today."

Elena Svitolina is seeded first in New Zealand, and she advanced to the last 16 with a straight-sets win over Varvara Gracheva, while there were also victories for Alexandra Eala and Sonay Kartal on Tuesday.

2 - Since 1990, Venus Williams is only the second player aged 45+ to appear in five or more matches at WTA Tour level, along with Martina Navratilova (8). Warmup.#ASBClassic26 | @ASB_Classic @WTA @WTA_insider pic.twitter.com/i6AZJ84YKO

— OptaAce (@OptaAce) January 6, 2026

Data Debrief: Williams emulates Navratilova 

Williams may have fallen short in Auckland, but Linette said she was impressed by her opponent's physical condition as she played her fifth WTA Tour-level match since turning 45.

Since 1990, Williams is only the second player to reach that figure, after Martina Navratilova played eight times following her 45th birthday.