ISTANBUL
Former world No. 1 Venus Williams returned to Istanbul’s Bosporus Bridge on Monday, 10 years after she played an exhibition match on the iconic landmark linking Europe and Asia.
Williams, currently ranked 15th in the world, met Turkey’s top female player Cagla Buyukakcay and up-and-coming star Ipek Soylu in the run-up to the TEB BNP Paribas Istanbul Cup.
The American star, who has won 46 titles and eight Grand Slams in her career, triumphed in the first Istanbul Cup in 2005. She joins Buyukakcay and Soylu on Tuesday in the first round of the Women’s Tennis Association (WTA) tournament.
"I said to Venus today, when she was here 10 years ago for the first year of the tournament, it was my first WTA tournament ever," Buyukakcay said, according to the WTA website. "It's such a pleasure to have her here again after 10 years."
The tournament is held from July 20 to 26 at the 8,000-capacity Garanti Koza Arena -- the largest tennis center in Europe with more than 50 courts.
