Nearly two years separate the 818th and 819th victories in Venus Williams’ career.
When the 45-year-old arrived in Washington, D.C., out of surgery-induced semi-retirement to play a first professional tournament in 15 months, expectations could have been tempered.
When she became the second-oldest player in history to win a tour-level match late on Tuesday – after Martina Navratilova did so at 47 in 2004 – by defeating the World No. 35-ranked player who was born after she had already won the first four of her seven Major titles, Venus did not just send a bunch of records tumbling but also confirmed that mere participation was no motivator for the veteran former World No. 1.
Williams’ announcement of returning to professional tennis at this week’s DC Open for the first time since April 2024 may have sent a few heads turning. But after she powered her way past her 23-year-old compatriot, Peyton Stearns, 6-3, 6-4 to win her first match since August 2023, following up a triumphant return to doubles action a day prior, there was little doubting that the winning habits, the raw competitiveness, and the big-hitting are still alive and kicking. She is not just there to soak in the admiration of the large home crowds she can continue to pull. She is there to win.
“I’m just trying to figure out how many wins will it take before I’m off COBRA (a temporary American health insurance),” she said on court, jokingly, after Tuesday night’s victory. “I haven’t asked the WTA yet, but I gotta just keep winning until finally my insurance kicks back in, so…”
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
Later, she would be more revealing, admitting that doubts have clouded her head for the past year and a half as she has mounted her comeback. “Each week that I was training, I was, like, ‘Oh, my God, I don’t know if I’m good enough yet.’ And then there would be weeks where I would leap forward. And there would be two weeks where I was, like, ‘Oh, God, it’s not happening.’ Even the week leading up, (I thought), ‘Oh, my gosh, I need to improve so much more.’ So it’s all a head game,” she was quoted as saying by AP, adding: “I wanted to play a good match, and win the match.”
Until last week, the WTA Tour had listed Williams as an “inactive player”. Last year, she had surgery to remove uterine fibroids – a non-cancerous growth around the uterus that comes with a variety of complications and uncomfortable symptoms. The 7,000-strong capacity crowd in the American capital may have shown up on Tuesday to support her feats of resilience and get their final glimpses of one of the country’s greatest tennis players. Instead, they were treated to an exhibition of just how she has built that reputation.
It took her a beat to settle down – she dropped serve to love in the first game – but once she had, the big hitting and booming groundstrokes were whirring. She hit nine aces, some at a flashing speed as high as 177kmph, and showed some adaptation to the modern game too; applying much more aggression to her return. She put Stearns under pressure almost immediately after, winning four of the next five games and riding out the first set.
In the second, both players traded breaks till honours were even at 3-3, before the veteran went up a gear, finding the breakthrough and holding match points. Stearns showed some resilience there, and Williams’ rustiness showed when she was not able to make good of her two match points in the marathon ninth game of the second. She wore off the disappointment and served the victory out in style.
“It’s not easy. It won’t be easy. It’s not easy for anyone out here,” she said ahead of her next assignment, taking on the fifth-seeded World No. 24 Magdalena Frech in the second round. “So I know I’ll have to fight for every match. But I’m up for that.”
No doubts there.
