Venus Williams, the five-time Wimbledon champion, was photographed on the Italian island of Ischia on Thursday as she prepared for her wedding to actor Andrea Preti, multiple eyewitnesses said. The 45-year-old tennis star was seen riding in the back of a golf cart in a white dress and sun hat in the village of Sant'Angelo, with a sign reading 'Mrs Preti' visible on the headwear. Local reports indicate the ceremony was planned for Friday on the island. Eyewitnesses said Serena Williams, Venus's sister, who has retired from professional tennis, was also in the buggy, alongside her sister, with wedding guests seen wearing 'Team Groom' and 'Team Bride' T-shirts, though the markings were not clearly visible in the pictures. Williams appeared to be wearing a sun hat bearing the lettering SIG RA PETRI, an Italian abbreviation for Signora Petri, which translates as Mrs. Petri.
Williams confirmed her engagement to Preti, 37, during a post-match interview after her first-round victory at the D.C. Open in July. She described Preti as a model, actor and director who grew up in Denmark before moving to Italy as a teenager. He has written, directed and starred in the 2014 indie film One More Day and has appeared in several Italian television productions, including the drama A Professor and the 2023 reality series Temptation. Williams, who has four Olympic gold medals and more than $42 million in career prize money, has long kept her personal life private. Beyond the wedding plans, Williams has said she does not feel pressure to marry, and has previously joked about her love life in public interviews. In 2021, she told Cosmopolitan that she liked her life as it is and did not feel the need to change it, and she reiterated similar sentiments in later conversations with ESPN. Observers noted the island setting and the private nature of the event, with island reports indicating the wedding was to be held on Friday. Ischia has drawn interest from fans and media as the couple prepares for the ceremony, though representatives have offered few details.