WIMBLEDON, England -- Her first Wimbledon, back in 1997, did not go well.

“Oh, man,” Venus Williams said Saturday. “It rained for five days in a row. So, mostly I remember sitting in the lounge, waiting to play. I don’t think it’s done anything like that since.”

The 17-year-old American would lose in the first round to Magdalena Grzybowska, but over time she collected five Wimbledon singles titles. Younger sister Serena retired at last year’s US Open, leaving the tennis community to wonder when Venus -- now 43 -- will follow suit.

Has she planned exactly how she’s going to, borrowing Serena’s phrase, evolve away from tennis?

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“If I did,” Venus told reporters, “I wouldn’t tell you.”

Does she anticipate playing the US Open later this summer?

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“Well … um,” Venus began in a theatrical voice. “These tournaments mean a lot to me and Grand Slams mean the most to me. So, it would be a privilege to play there, but at the moment, I’m very focused on this event. The US Open is so far away right now.”

Based on the physical and mental demands of the sport, could she find the motivation to continue playing until the age of 50?

“It’s never been done before,” she said, “so if there was one to try it, it would be me.”

Would she opt for a high-profile announcement like Serena’s before the US Open or go for something more low-key?

“Like I said, if I knew I wouldn’t tell you -- or any of you,” she said emphatically, drawing laughter from the dozen reporters as well as herself.

On Monday, in her 24th appearance at the All England Club (one more than Martina Navratilova for the Open era record), Williams plays another wild card, Elina Svitolina, in a first-round match on Centre Court.

“I did not know that,” she said when informed of the match venue. “Oh, cool. Let’s do it.”

Williams has played only five matches in six months. She split two in Auckland, New Zealand, back in January, then spent more than six months on the sidelines with a hamstring injury.

“A nightmare -- and a terribly difficult rehab,” she said. “I haven’t played a lot of matches in the last few years -- and not by choice. So I wanted to be [playing] and I couldn’t. I put my head down and put even more work in and got myself in a much better position.”

She lost two of three matches on grass in S’Hertogenbosch and Birmingham, but the victory, in more than three hours against Camila Giorgi, was impressive.

When asked if she was carrying the torch for the 35-plus crowd, inspiring them about what is possible, Williams shook her head and said no.

These days, what is her motivation?

“Well,” she said, smiling, “there’s really great insurance benefits on the tour.”

And so, prepare for a fortnight of pure, unadulterated tennis. It begins Monday with 32 matches from the top half of the women’s draw. Here’s a look at a few of the notable encounters on Day 1:

Venus Williams vs. Elina Svitolina

Williams has won 49 singles titles and 22 in doubles with younger sister Serena. Venus’ seven Grand Slam singles championships are the most for an active player and five of them have come at Wimbledon.

But ask her the thing she’s proudest of and it’s not an on-court victory. She was instrumental in 2007 when Wimbledon first offered women prize money equal to men.

“It was fantastic that the All England Club understood that challenge and rose to that occasion many, many years ago,” Williams said Saturday. “That moment for me was incredible, and it still like the best moment of my career.”

She has great sympathy for Svitolina, who is from Ukraine.

“War is a nightmare,” Williams said. “I can’t even imagine what it’s like. So all we can hope for is for it to end quickly.”

Venus won the first meeting but has lost the past three, although they haven’t played in nearly four years. Williams has played only five matches this year (2-3) because of a hamstring ailment.

Svitolina took a one-year sabbatical to give birth to a daughter, Skai, and returned this April in Charleston. She’s 12-8 and won the title in Strasbourg back in May.

No.1 Iga Swiatek vs. Zhu Lin

After withdrawing from her semifinal match in Bad Homburg a few days earlier with a GI illness, Swiatek has pronounced herself fit.

The World No.1 won her first three matches in Germany and says she’s feeling good about her transition from a championship run at Roland Garros to grass. Wimbledon, historically, has been her biggest challenge. She’s 5-3 here and has never advanced past the fourth round.

“I feel every year that I’m kind of getting into the rhythm a little bit faster,” Swiatek said. “So I feel like I'm ready and I'm pretty excited for the tournament.”

Zhu, a 29-year-old from China, is coming off a terrific tournament in Birmingham. She won three matches (including one over No.20 Petra Martic) before falling to top seed Barbora Krejcikova.

These two have never played.

No.7 Coco Gauff vs. Sofia Kenin

Kenin was the 2020 Australian Open champion, but she had to win three qualifying matches to advance to this Wimbledon main draw. A 6-3, 6-3 victory over fellow American Taylor Townsend pushed her across the finish line.

Ranked No.126, Kenin has struggled with a series of injuries and is 12-14 for the season.

The 19-year-old Gauff, meanwhile, is a sparkling 24-10 with a singles title in Auckland and doubles crowns with Jessica Pegula in Miami and Doha. Interestingly, she defeated Kenin in her second match on the way to winning in Auckland.

For the record, their other meeting was the Round of 16 in Melbourne -- 6-7 (5), 6-3, 6-0 -- when Kenin played the tournament of her 24-year-old life.

“I believe we split sets and I lost in the third,” Gauff said with startling accuracy. “Honestly, her game is pretty similar. I think I just got better. Obviously, she was in a tough spot earlier this year. I think coming through qualifying, she’ll have a lot more confidence, so I’m not expecting an easy match at all.”