Crossword Clue: Tennis star Williams
Here's the answer to the Tennis star Williams crossword clue, with an explanation and where it has appeared.
Definition & answer: VENUS
"Tennis star Williams" points to VENUS, a 5-letter entry that starts with V and finishes on S and carries 2 vowels. Because every square it occupies also belongs to a down or across answer crossing it, you can often back into VENUS from the letters around it rather than the clue alone.
Origin & meaning
Venus Williams is an American tennis champion and Serena's older sister. She won multiple Wimbledon singles titles.
Common usage
Compact, vowel-friendly answers such as VENUS are a constructor's staple: they slot into a 5-square space and play nicely in both directions. Solvers who recognize it on sight save real time on the daily puzzle.
Crossword trivia
Venus belongs to the small vocabulary of words that appear constantly in grids. Because it's only 5 letters, editors can drop it almost anywhere, which is why regular solvers know it on sight.
Stuck on this clue?
Stuck on "Tennis star Williams"? Don't force it — solve the clues crossing this slot instead. One or two intersecting letters usually make VENUS obvious. Working from the crossings is the single most useful habit for getting faster.
This clue in different puzzles
Setters vary how they clue VENUS — sometimes with a straight dictionary definition, sometimes with wordplay, a pun, or a fill-in-the-blank — but the answer itself stays the same. Learning to spot the answer behind the disguise is a core crossword skill.
Example sentences
- "A 5-letter slot and a clue like 'Tennis star Williams'? That's VENUS nine times out of ten."
- "I second-guessed it, but the crossing answers confirmed VENUS was right."
- "I had the crossing letters, so writing VENUS into the grid took no time at all."