Venus Williams had a message to convey—to herself and to others—about returning to tennis after a long absence, about competing at age 45, and about perseverance. There was undeniable significance in simply stepping back onto the court Tuesday night.
Yet there was also this: She was determined to win.
And she did, becoming the second-oldest woman to secure a singles victory at a professional tour-level event. At 45, Williams displayed her signature powerful serves and groundstrokes, defeating 23-year-old Peyton Stearns 6-3, 6-4 at the DC Open.
"No matter how much I trained, there were moments when I doubted myself. Some weeks felt like progress, others like setbacks. Even right before this match, I wasn’t sure if I was ready," Williams said after her first singles match in over a year and her first win in nearly two.
Martina Navratilova remains the only woman to win a tour-level singles match at an older age, achieving the feat at 47 in 2004.
Williams, a former world No. 1, had last competed in singles in March 2024 in Miami before undergoing surgery for uterine fibroids. Her previous singles victory dated back to August 2023 in Cincinnati. Until this week, the WTA Tour had listed her as inactive.
"My focus is staying healthy so I can keep competing," Williams said. "Returning to the court and playing at my best while staying fit is what matters most to me now."
Cheered on by an enthusiastic crowd at the hard-court tournament in Washington, D.C., Williams demonstrated flashes of the skill that earned her seven Grand Slam singles titles, 14 in women’s doubles—all alongside her sister Serena—and two in mixed doubles.
"I came here to play well," Williams told fans, prompting loud cheers when she added, "and to win."
In the second game, Williams seized control with a sharp return winner, then struck several decisive shots to break Stearns, a former NCAA champion currently ranked 35th. Moments later, she sprinted forward to chase down a drop shot and fired a forehand winner.
Applause erupted as she entered the 7,000-seat stadium—far larger than the venue where she won a doubles match the previous day—and again as she approached the net for the coin toss. The crowd roared louder when she unleashed aces at 110 mph and beyond, a reminder of her dominance in years past.
Notably, Williams claimed four Grand Slam titles before Stearns was born.
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