Venus Williams staged a triumphant return to singles tennis after a 16-month absence with a milestone straight-sets win in the first round of the Citi Open in Washington.
The 45-year-old former world No.1 rallied to a 6-3, 6-4 win over Peyton Stearns on Tuesday evening to become the oldest woman to win a match on the Tour in more than 20 years. The last time a player won a match at an older age than Williams on the WTA Tour was Martina Navratilova, who was 47 when she won her opening round at the 2004 Wimbledon championships.
Against Stearns, Williams produced nine aces and won 71% of her first service points during what was an at times roller-coaster encounter. There were 10 breaks of serve, with four of them being for the seven-time Grand Slam champion.
“You know, it’s the first step, and the first match is always extremely difficult,” wtatennis.com quoted Williams as saying afterwards. “It’s hard to describe how difficult it is to play a first match after so much time off.
“So 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.”
It is the first time Williams has won a singles match on the Tour since the 2023 Cincinnati Open. Before taking on 23-year-old Sterns, she last played at the 2024 BNP Paribas Open in Indian Wells.
“There are no limits for excellence,” she 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.
“It doesn’t matter how many times you fall down. Doesn’t matter how many times you get sick or get hurt or whatever it is. If you continue to believe and put in the work, there is an opportunity, there is space for you.”
Williams will next take on fifth seed Magdalena Fręch, who was born in 1997, three years after she made her WTA debut.
Elsewhere in the draw, Emma Raducanu continued her run of promising form from Wimbledon by beating seventh seed Marta Kostyuk 7-6(4), 6-4. She will next play Naomi Osaka, who beat Yulia Putintseva.
