The question surfaced almost the moment the news broke: had tennis legend Venus Williams quietly become Venus Preti? When the Grand Slam champion married Italian actor and model Andrea Preti in a pair of breathtaking ceremonies during 2025, fans worldwide started searching for an answer. So, is the Venus Williams name change officially confirmed? The short answer is no, not publicly. But the story behind her double wedding, her new husband, and what her choice says about married names in the modern era is well worth knowing.
How Venus Williams and Andrea Preti Found Each Other
The romance began with a last-minute invitation. In 2024, Venus was in Lake Como with her sisters when she received an unexpected invite to Milan Fashion Week. She ended up at the Gucci event, and that is where she crossed paths with Andrea Preti, a model and actor born in Denmark who had relocated to Italy as a teenager and built his career there. Venus’s sister Lyndrea Price helped facilitate their initial connection, exchanging contact information at the party on both their behalf.
What set Andrea apart was his willingness to make a real effort. He approached Venus during the event, told her “You’re so beautiful,” and followed up in a way that stood out in modern dating: he called instead of texted, and he flew to London to visit her the very next week. Venus later described what she looked for in a life partner as someone with “good family, good values, has a job” combined with genuine attraction grounded in who a person actually is. By those standards, Andrea appeared to check every box.
By January 31, 2025, the couple was officially engaged. Venus was spotted wearing a dazzling diamond ring in Rome the following month, and the news spread quickly across entertainment outlets and social media around the world.
Two Weddings, Two Continents
Venus and Andrea chose to mark their marriage with two celebrations, honoring his Italian heritage and her American home in equal measure.
The Italian ceremony took place on September 18, 2025, at the Punta Imperatore Lighthouse on the island of Ischia. The setting was cinematic: a clifftop lighthouse, a beach volleyball tournament, a reception at L’Isola restaurant, and a fireworks display that Andrea arranged as a surprise for Venus at the end of the evening. The celebration carried deep personal meaning, but one practical hurdle remained: paperwork requirements for foreign nationals meant the couple could not make the marriage legally binding on Italian soil.
The legal wedding followed on December 20, 2025, in Palm Beach, Florida. The couple signed their marriage license at West Palm Beach City Hall at 6 a.m., with Venus’s sister Serena Williams, a licensed notary, officiating the ceremony. What followed was a six-day celebration at Venus’s Florida home, including a yacht party gifted by Serena, a bridal shower, and daily pool parties with close friends and family.
The fashion across the whole week was remarkable. Venus wore a custom Morilee New York gown at the courthouse and a Georges Hobeika gown for the ceremony itself, cycling through more than a dozen distinct wedding looks during the celebration. The music choices were equally personal: Andrea walked down the aisle to “I’ll Be There” by the Jackson 5, while Venus chose a song by Italian singer Irama, a subtle nod to the country where their love story began. Venus later summed up the whole experience with quiet joy: “I can’t describe how beautiful, calm, sacred, exciting, and exalting it was.”
Did Venus Williams Change Her Last Name to Preti?
This is the question at the center of every search right now: did Venus Williams change her last name after marrying Andrea Preti?
Based on all available public reporting through mid-2026, the answer is no, at least not publicly. Venus Williams has not announced or confirmed any official name change. Every outlet covering her June 28, 2026, Wimbledon debut with Andrea, their Met Gala appearance in May, and her ongoing tennis career refers to her exclusively as Venus Williams. There is no public statement, no social media announcement, and no court filing referenced in any reporting to suggest she has legally become Venus Preti.
It is worth noting that name changes can happen quietly and at any time after a wedding. Some newlyweds wait months before updating their legal documents, and celebrities often maintain professional name recognition publicly while handling paperwork privately. But as of now, Venus Williams remains Venus Williams, and that appears entirely intentional.
Why Professional Women Often Keep Their Names After Marriage
Venus’s apparent choice reflects a decision millions of professional women navigate every year. When your name is also your career, your brand, and a legacy built over decades of public life, changing it carries real professional and personal weight.
For Venus, “Venus Williams” represents seven Grand Slam titles, an Olympic gold medal, the fashion brand EleVen, a business career that extends well beyond tennis, and more than two decades as one of the most recognizable athletes on the planet. That name carries enormous cultural and professional significance. Many women in similar positions, from athletes to executives to entertainers, choose to maintain their professional name in all public contexts, even when their legal or social name reflects their partner’s surname. You can see the same question play out in other recent cases: Dua Lipa’s name change after marriage and Zendaya’s married name decision are worth a look if you’re curious how other high-profile couples handled it.
There are several ways to handle your own married name, from hyphenating to keeping your birth name entirely. explore all your name change options after marriage walks through each approach so you can make the decision that fits your life and your career.
Venus Williams’s Married Name and Their 2026 Partnership on Display
Whatever Venus ultimately decides about her Venus Williams married name, the couple’s public appearances in 2026 have made one thing unmistakably clear: this partnership is the real thing. They attended the Met Gala together in May, drawing attention for all the right reasons. On June 28, 2026, they made their Wimbledon couples debut, sitting together in the stands and, by multiple accounts, thoroughly enjoying every moment.
Andrea has been a visible and enthusiastic presence in Venus’s world, showing up as a genuine partner rather than a quiet background figure. For fans who have followed Venus through three decades of career highs, personal challenges, and public grace, watching her step into this chapter with such obvious happiness feels like exactly what she deserves.
Ready to Handle Your Own Name Change?
If Venus’s story has your own name change on your mind, you are in very good company. Every year, hundreds of thousands of newlyweds work through the paperwork that comes with a new surname, and it can feel like a second job on top of everything else that comes with being newly married.
Pro tip: MissNowMrs makes the whole process simple and stress-free. Trusted by over 500,000 newlyweds since 2007, the service generates personalized, court-ready forms for every agency you need to update, all in one place. get started with your MissNowMrs name change kit and take the paperwork off your plate for good.
Frequently Asked Questions
Did Venus Williams take Andrea Preti’s last name?
As of mid-2026, Venus Williams has not publicly confirmed any name change. All media coverage through her 2026 Wimbledon appearance and ongoing career reporting continues to identify her as Venus Williams. She has not made any public announcement about taking the name Venus Preti.
Who is Andrea Preti, Venus Williams’s husband?
Andrea Preti is a model and actor born in Denmark who relocated to Italy as a teenager. He wrote, directed, and starred in the Italian romance film One More Day, appeared in the TV series A Professor, starred in the 2023 thriller Temptation, and competed on the Italian reality show La Talpa. He and Venus first met at Milan Fashion Week in 2024 at a Gucci event in Lake Como.
When did Venus Williams and Andrea Preti get married?
Venus and Andrea held two ceremonies. The first took place on September 18, 2025, at the Punta Imperatore Lighthouse in Ischia, Italy. The second, their legal wedding, was held on December 20, 2025, at a Palm Beach courthouse in Florida, with Venus’s sister Serena Williams officiating in her capacity as a licensed notary.
What name change options do newlyweds have?
Newlyweds can take a spouse’s surname, hyphenate both names, keep their birth name, add a spouse’s name as a middle name, or each keep their original surnames. complete name change checklist for newlyweds walks through every step in the right order, starting with the Social Security Administration.
Is there a deadline for changing your name after marriage?
Most U.S. states have no strict legal deadline. You can begin the day after your ceremony or wait as long as you need, provided you have a certified copy of your marriage certificate. how long you have to change your name after marriage covers timelines and what to expect in detail.
A New Chapter Worth Celebrating
Venus Williams spent more than two decades showing the world what it looks like to compete with grace, win with humility, and carry yourself with dignity through every kind of challenge. Now she is showing what the next chapter looks like: a love story that unfolded across continents, two weddings that felt both grand and deeply personal, and a partnership built on exactly the qualities she always said mattered most.
Whether or not a Venus Williams name change is officially on the horizon, what is certain is that she has built something worth celebrating. If you are freshly married and ready to tackle the post-wedding logistics, take it one step at a time. The name on your documents is just one part of the story you and your partner are writing together.