Venus Williams certainly rolled back the years on Tuesday night in Washington as she secured her 819th tour-level win, aged 45. Securing the same scoreline as her first-ever victory 31 years ago when she was 14, Venus became the second-oldest woman to win a tour-level singles match in professional tennis, delivering some of her familiar big serves and groundstrokes while beating Peyton Stearns — 22 years her junior — by a 6-3, 6-4 score at the DC Open.
This was the first singles victory for Williams in nearly two years. The only older woman to win a match was Martina Navratilova at 47 in 2004.
“We were literally living and dying together,” Williams said.
“It’s not easy to come off after all that time and play the perfect match. All the players here are playing amazing. Peyton played so well, and I felt like I was just trying to slow myself down — going faster and faster and faster — so thanks to my team.”
It’s like she never left 😮💨@Venuseswilliams defeats Stearns 6-3, 6-4 to reach the second round in the United States capital.#MubadalaCitiDCOpen pic.twitter.com/r38pH63jCt
— wta (@WTA) July 23, 2025
There also were moments where Williams — who said her fiancé was in the stands — looked as if it had been just as long as it actually has since she competed, including in the opening game, when she got broken at love this way: forehand wide, forehand into the net, forehand long, backhand long.
At the end, it took Williams a bit of extra effort to close things out. She kept holding match points and kept failing to convert them. But eventually, on her sixth chance, Williams powered in a 112 mph serve that Stearns returned into the net. That was it: Williams smiled wide as can be, raised a fist and jogged to the net to shake hands, then performed her customary post-win pirouette-and-wave.
Venus Williams after becoming the oldest WTA match winner since 2004:
“I had to come back for the insurance, because they informed me this year that I’m on cobra. So it’s like, I got to get my benefits on” 😭😭😭😭
— The Tennis Letter (@TheTennisLetter) July 23, 2025
A day after winning her R16 doubles match with Hailey Baptiste that got her back in the groove, Venus advanced to a second-round singles matchup against No. 5 seed Magdalena Frech, a 27-year-old from Poland.
‘Back for the insuranace…
Williams, who has battled several injuries in recent years, revealed that her decision to return was fuelled by her team while jokingly referring to her insurance coverage situation.
“There were so many times I just wanted to coast and kind of chill. Do you know how hard it is to play tennis? You guys don’t know how much work goes into this. It’s 9 to 5, except you’re running the whole time, lifting weights, just dying, and then you repeat it the next day,” she said.
“I had to come back for the insurance. They informed me earlier this year I’m on COBRA. So I was like, I got to get my benefits on. Started training….I’m always at the doctor, so I need this insurance.”
– With AP Inputs
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