"How on earth did this happen?"; "Did they not ask beforehand?" - Fans baffled by Venus Williams' Indian Wells wildcard fiasco

Venus Williams recently confirmed that she will not be taking a wildcard entry into the BNP Paribas Open in Indian Wells next month. The above news perplexed the tennis community on social media, many of whom criticized the Palm Springs-based event organizers for miscommunication.

Williams has enjoyed nearly three decades at the highest echelon of women's tennis. The American, who will turn 45 this year, has been inactive from the WTA Tour since her Sunshine Double appearance last year.

In that context, tennis fans were overjoyed when Indian Wells organizers disclosed last week that Venus Williams was granted a wildcard into the main draw of their WTA 1000 tournament.

Unfortunately, the seven-time Major winner contradicted the news on Sunday (February 23) during a media appearance outside the USA, claiming that she couldn't play due to other "commitments". In a bid to salvage the situation, the X (formerly Twitter) handle of the BNP Paribas Open came out with a statement on behalf of tournament director Tommy Haas that has since come under fire.

"Our team has been informed that Venus is not accepting the wild card this year. We wish Venus all the best and hope to see her back in Indian Wells in the future," BNP Paribas Open wrote in their statement on X.

A few fans were upset at being strung along by the tournament, as they would've probably been excited to see Venus Williams play at Indian Wells for the 10th time in her career.

"How on earth did this happen???" one fan wrote.

"Tommy Haas - check with the player before you go announcing a b******t WC," another fan wrote.

Another, meanwhile, wondered how Haas granted Williams the wildcard without her even knowing about it.

"Did they not ask her beforehand? so weird.." they wrote.

Here are a few more reactions from social media:

"Poor journalism, all around," one fan insisted.

"'Hope to see her in the future' doing what lol? She’s 44 and she’s not even a top 100 player who doesn’t even play," another wrote.

"Truly would have paid to see the level of scrambling going on in the Indian wells offices on a Sunday afternoon," one fan asserted.

"What an odd situation this was, not sure I've seen a tournament publicly announce a wild card and then the player say they never accepted it," another claimed.

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Venus Williams previously boycotted the BNP Paribas Open in Indian Wells for 14 years

Venus Williams and her father Richard watch Serena Williams at Indian Wells 2001 (Source: Getty)

For those unaware, Venus Williams and the BNP Paribas Open have shared a tumultuous history. The seven-time Major winner didn't play in Indian Wells from 2002 to 2015 due to the ill-treatment of her younger sister, Serena Williams, in the 2001 final against Kim Clijsters.

The controversy began when Venus Williams withdrew ahead of her semifinal encounter against the 23-time Major winner due to tendonitis. The fans in attendance, however, were skeptical of the above incident, as they believed that it was a strategic ploy from their father and coach, Richard Williams.

During the women's title match, they profusely booed not only Serena Williams but her family sitting in the players' box, as well. This led to both Williams sisters boycotting the tournament for more than a decade before they made their comeback in 2016.