Venus Williams has won her first singles match in over a year. She won on the hardcourt of Washington against her compatriot Peyton Stearns: 6-3 and 6-4.
The last WTA tournament of the now 45-year-old Williams was in March 2024. Earlier this week, she returned with her partner Hailey Baptiste in the doubles with a victory. She also showed her qualities in her return to singles.
Williams did have a somewhat rough start. She was immediately broken with a love game by the number 35 in the world. After that, she occasionally showed her old level, broke Stearns back immediately and won the first set after more than half an hour.
Williams decided the match after 1 hour and 37 minutes. It was the American’s first singles victory since August 2023. Then she won in the first round of Veronika Kudermetova at the WTA tournament of Cincinnati.
Williams thanks fiancé after victory
Williams visibly enjoyed her successful comeback. “My fiancé is here, he has never seen me play,” she said on the court afterwards. “He has always encouraged me to keep playing.”
“There were so many moments that I just wanted to chill. Do you know how hard it is to play tennis? You have no idea how much work you have to put into it. It’s like you’re constantly running, lifting weights from 9:00 am to 5:00 pm… And then you do the exact same thing again the next day.”
In the next round, Williams will face the Polish Magdalena Frech, the number 24 in the world. Williams was the number one in the world for eleven weeks in 2002. She won a total of seven Grand Slam titles in singles.