Venus Williams returns to tennis with historic Washington win
Venus Williams, 45, became the oldest player to win a WTA Tour singles match in more than 21 years on Tuesday night by defeating 23-year-old American Peyton Stearns, 6-3, 6-4, at the Mubadala Citi DC Open in Washington, D.C.
The seven-time Grand Slam singles champion is the oldest player to win a tour-level women's singles match since then-47-year-old Martina Navratilova at Wimbledon in 2004. It was Williams' first singles match in 16 months and her first singles win in nearly two years, since Cincinnati in 2023.
"It's the first step, and the first match is always extremely difficult," Williams said in front of a packed stadium crowd. "It's hard to describe how difficult it is to play a first match after so much time off.
"Going into the match, I know I have the ability to win, but it's all about actually winning. So this is the best result, to play a good match and win. I'm here with my friends, family, people I love, and the fans, too, who I love and they love me, so this has been just a beautiful night."
Williams sealed the historic result on her sixth match point, after missing out on four on return at 5-3 and then saving a break point while serving out the victory at 5-4. She hit nine aces on the night.
Her past two singles wins have come against players in the Top 35 of the WTA rankings. Before beating world No. 35 Stearns, she defeated then-world No. 16 Veronika Kudermetova in 2023 in Cincinnati.
Venus Williams celebrates her victory in Washington, D.C. Photo by Scott Taetsch/Getty Images.
"There are no limits for excellence," Williams said. "It's all about what's in your head and how much you're able to put into it. If you put in the work mentally, physically, and emotionally, then you can have the result."
Williams' next match is against 27-year-old world No. 24 Magdalena Frech of Poland on Thursday, their first career meeting.
Later this summer, Venus hopes to return to the Grand Slam stage in the new-look US Open Mixed Doubles Championship. She and partner Reilly Opelka recently added their names to the event's entry list, but as it stands they will need a wild card to find a place in the 16-team field.
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