Venus Williams will be the first 45-year-old to compete at the US Open since 1981 when she faces Karolina Muchova on Monday.

Williams received a wild card to compete in New York. She returned to action in July at the DC Open, beating Peyton Stearns in the first round before losing to fifth-seeded Magdalena Fręch. She also made the trip to Southwestern Ohio, dropping her first-round match against Jessica Bouzas Maneiro in the Cincinnati Open.

It's a given that much of the coverage and attention devoted to Venus Williams' return to the U.S. Open, where play begins Sunday, has focused — and will focus — on how old she is. The American is, after all,