WASHINGTON — Venus Williams wished to ship a message — to herself and to others — about getting back from a protracted layoff, about competing in a sport at age 45, about by no means giving up. Sure, there was one thing particular about simply being again on a tennis courtroom Tuesday night time.
There additionally was this: She actually, actually wished to win.
And Williams did simply that, changing into the second-oldest girl to win a tour-level singles match in skilled tennis, delivering a few of her acquainted huge serves and groundstrokes at age 45 whereas beating Peyton Stearns — 22 years her junior — by a 6-3, 6-4 rating on the DC Open.
“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,” Williams stated after her first singles match in additional than a yr and first singles victory in practically two.
Navratilova is the one girl older than Williams to win a singles match
The one older girl to win a tour-level singles match was Martina Navratilova, whose final triumph got here at 47 in 2004.
The previous No. 1-ranked Williams had not performed singles in an official match since March 2024 in Miami, lacking time whereas having surgical procedure to take away uterine fibroids.
She hadn’t gained in singles since August 2023 in Cincinnati. Till this week, she was listed by the WTA Tour as “inactive.”
“I’m just constantly praying for good health, so that way I could have an opportunity to play with good health,” Williams stated. “A lot of this for me is being able to come back and try to play at a level (and) to play healthy.”
Venus Williams gained 4 Grand Slam titles earlier than Peyton Stearns was born
Backed by a crowd that clearly was there to see, and assist, her on the hard-court match within the nation’s capital, Williams confirmed glimpses of the expertise she possesses and the talents she displayed whereas incomes all of her Grand Slam titles: seven in singles, 14 in girls’s doubles — all alongside youthful sister Serena — and two in combined doubles.
“I wanted to play a good match,” Williams advised the followers, then added a phrase that drew appreciative roars: “and win the match.”
In Tuesday’s second sport, Williams smacked a return winner to get issues began, then delivered a few different huge responses to interrupt Stearns, a 23-year-old who gained singles and staff NCAA titles on the College of Texas and is presently ranked thirty fifth.
Within the subsequent sport, Williams sprinted ahead to succeed in a drop shot and replied with a forehand winner.
The primary refrain of cheers arrived when Williams walked out into the primary stadium on the DC Open, a 7,000-seat area that’s greater than twice as giant as the place she was for her doubles victory a day earlier. One other got here when she strode from the sideline to the middle of the courtroom for the coin toss. The noise reached a crescendo when Williams started hitting aces — at 110 mph and sooner — the best way she used to.
Consider: Williams gained 4 Grand Slam trophies earlier than Stearns was born.
Venus Williams hit huge serves and groundstrokes similar to she at all times did.
“She played some ball tonight,” Stearns stated. “She was moving really well, which I wasn’t expecting too much, honestly. Her serves were just on fire.”
There additionally have been moments the place Williams — whose fiance was within the stands — regarded as if it had been simply so long as it really has since she competed, together with within the opening sport, when she received damaged at love this manner: forehand huge, forehand into the web, forehand lengthy, backhand lengthy.
On the finish, it took Williams a bit of additional effort to shut issues out.
She stored holding match factors and stored failing to transform them.
However ultimately, on her sixth probability, Williams powered in a 112 mph serve that Stearns returned into the web.
That was it: Williams smiled huge as could be, raised a fist and jogged to the web to shake arms, then carried out her customary post-win pirouette-and-wave.
“It’s not easy. It won’t be easy. It’s not easy for anyone out here,” stated Williams, who subsequent faces No. 5 seed Magdalena Frech, who’s 27. “So I know I’ll have to fight for every match. But I’m up for that.”