Venus Williams plans to compete at Roland Garros after clay comeback in Madrid

[p][a href="https://www.flashscore.ca/player/williams-venus/M7dojKaa/"]Williams[/a] was beaten ‌[a href="https://www.flashscore.ca/game/tennis/quevedo-k-Ovyv04To/williams-v-M7dojKaa/?mid=Wr6Yvu5F"]6-2 6-4[/a] by fellow wild card [a href="https://www.flashscore.ca/player/quevedo-kaitlin/Ovyv04To/"]Kaitlin Quevedo[/a] ‌in the opening round on Tuesday for ‌her 10th straight singles loss after she returned from a 16-month break midway through last ‌season.[/p][p]The seven-times Grand Slam singles champion ⁠will need ‌a wild card to feature at Roland Garros.[/p][p][b]"Yeah, I ​mean, to get my feet dirty, this was a great start,"[/b] Williams, ​45, told reporters.[/p][p]"I'm not able to play Rome, I have other commitments, unfortunately, so ⁠I'm really ​super sad about that, actually.[/p][p][b]"My husband is Italian, so we feel sad that we can't be there. So we would love to ‌keep it going on the clay."[/b][/p][embed guid="5735ab0f-9687-4469-ae1f-94d84eaa115c" url="https://x.com/josemorgado/status/2046651474390704273" social-type="twitter" /][p]Williams' last match on clay before Madrid was at the French Open in 2021 and she said she was happy with how she performed.[/p][p][b]"I felt like in the last game I started to move better on the clay. But then it was the ‌last game,"[/b] she added.[/p][p]"All these things take ​adjustments. I started my practice on ‌clay a couple weeks after Miami. I haven't really played on clay in years. But I enjoy the clay, it's fun.[/p][p][b]"I played against a very inspired opponent ⁠today."[/b][/p][p]The French ⁠Open begins on ‌May 24.[/p]