Venus Williams might be 36 years old – but she’s already got her eyes focused on playing an event in three years’ time.

That’s when she will get the chance to reclaim her Olympic doubles gold in Tokyo with sister Serena.

“That’s my absolute dream,” she told Reuters. “I have a dream partner. I would love that.”

The pair are three-time champions but could not defend their title in Rio last year, where they were eliminated in the first round by Lucie Safarova and Barbora Strycova.

Venus attributed her long career partially to a sheer love of the game.

“You have to love it, it’s a lot of work,” she told the Associated Press. “If you feel like you have more to give, the heart is in it, that makes it pretty easy to get out there and pay the price.”

She has plenty of other interests off the court, though – not least her fashion line, EleVen by Venus, which will be worn by ballgirls and ushers at the BNP Paribas Showdown at Madison Square Garden on Monday evening, where she will also be playing a singles exhibition match against Garbiñe Muguruza.

She is also studying for a Masters degree in interior design, but her millions of fans will be relieved to know she won’t be putting down her racquet permanently for a long time yet.

“I’m planning on playing tennis for a very long time yet,” Williams said. “That dream is still going strong.”