Overview
- Tournament promotions and practice footage had announced Venus Williams and Alexandra Eala as a wildcard doubles team, but the official doubles draw later listed Diana Shnaider as Williams’ partner instead.
- Alexandra Eala told reporters she pulled out because she can’t give the physical, emotional and mental commitment required to play both singles and doubles right now and wants to focus on her singles return.
- Venus Williams said the reunion “didn’t work out this time” and expressed hope they could play together in the future.
- Williams and Shnaider won their opening doubles match to reach the quarterfinals, while Eala remains in the singles draw to face Qinwen Zheng in the first round.
- The tournament has not issued a formal explanation for the late change, a gap that has fuelled speculation about workload or fitness and highlights tension between promotion, player scheduling and clearer event communication.