The American will play her first Australian Open in five years and will be the oldest woman ever at the Melbourne tournament after being granted a wildcard.

Williams' last tournament was the US Open in August, not long after returning from a 16-month break.

Seven-time major singles champion Venus Williams was handed a wildcard to the Australian Open aged 45 on Friday, becoming the oldest woman ever to play at the season-opening Grand Slam.

Seven-time major singles champion Venus Williams was handed a wildcard to the Australian Open aged 45 on Friday, becoming the oldest woman ever to play at the season-opening Grand Slam.

Venus Williams has been awarded a wild card for the Australian Open warm-up event from January 5-11 after only returning to the circuit in August at the US Open after a 16-month break.

Venus Williams and Leylah Fernandez saw their doubles dream halted in the quarter-finals with a 6-1, 6-2 loss to top seeds Katerina Siniakova and Taylor Townsend.

Venus Williams prolonged her stay at the US Open on Monday, partnering Leylah Fernandez to reach her first Grand Slam doubles quarter-final in nearly a decade.

Venus Williams and Leylah Fernandez reached the third round of women's doubles at the U.S. Open by defeating Ulrikke Eikeri and Eri Hozumi 7-6 (1), 6-1 on Saturday.

In addition to her seven Grand Slam singles trophies, Venus Williams owns 14 major titles in women's doubles, all with her younger sister, Serena, as her partner.

Venus Williams battled bravely before suffering a first-round defeat on her return to the US Open on Tuesday, losing in three sets to 11th seed Karolina Muchova.