Venus Williams' comeback hits another snag as she falls in 1st round to Diane Perry in Indian Wells

Venus Williams dropped out of the BNP Paribas Open in the first round, falling 6-3 6-7(4) 6-1 to Diane Parry of France. The 45-year-old Williams, who has lost her last eight WTA matches, received a wild card into the singles and doubles draws for the tournament in the Southern California desert. 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 on Thursday. 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. ''I'm so excited to be heading back to Indian Wells and can't wait to return home to play in California,'' Williams said last month. Williams entered the BNP Paribas Open having lost her last 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. AP SSC SSC