Venus Williams Plays ‘Perfect Match’ Against Peyton Stearns After Tennis Comeback

Venus Williams breezed past Peyton Stearns to schedule a second-round clash with Polish player Magdalena Frech.

Venus Williams Plays ‘Perfect Match’ Against Peyton Stearns After Tennis Comeback

Venus Williams, Peyton Stearns (Image via X/The Tennis Letter, #AusOpen)

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Venus Williams made a stunning comeback to tennis after 16 months. When she walked onto the court for the first-round match against World No. 35 Peyton Stearns at the Citi Open yesterday, perhaps no one expected her to win the match.

But she has emerged victorious- with a 6-3, 6-4 scoreline in an hour and 37 minutes. With this win, she has become the oldest player after Martina Navratilova in 2004 Wimbledon to win a main-draw match on the WTA tour. The 18-time Grand Slam singles champion achieved this at the age of 47.

It is not easy to come off after all that time and play the perfect match. And all the players in the WTA are playing amazing. Peyton played so well, and I felt like I was trying to slow myself down, you know, I’m going faster and faster and faster.

Venus Williams said during her on-court interview

Williams had not played a tournament since the 2024 Miami Open, where she suffered a first-round exit. She has already become the oldest woman to play a main-draw match since Kimiko Date (46 years old at that time).

Date had played a main draw match at the 2017 Japan Open. The five-time Wimbledon singles champion has also secured a win for the first time since she defeated Veronika Kudermetova at the 2023 Cincinnati Open.

Williams has now taken a 1-0 lead in the head-to-head record. She will next clash with fifth seed Magdalena Frech, who went past Yuliia Starodubtseva. If Williams is successful in reaching the quarterfinals, she could schedule a match against third seed Elena Rybakina. The 2022 Wimbledon champion will kick-start her campaign against Victoria Mboko.

In the semifinals, Williams could meet 2024 US Open runner-up Jessica Pegula. The World No.4 is a two-time champion here (2019 and 2021).

Venus Williams shares the reason behind playing the Citi Open

Venus Williams is the winner of 49 singles titles, seven of which have come from Grand Slam events. In doubles, she has captured 10 Majors along with her sister and 23-time singles Grand Slam champion Serena Williams.

Venus Williams
Venus Williams (Image via X/Tennis Channel)

Then there are two Majors she has won in mixed doubles. In short, Williams doesn’t need to prove to anyone about anything. When asked in the pre-tournament press conference in Washington about what she wants to achieve by playing the WTA 500 tournament, Williams said she just wants to have fun.

My personal goals are to have fun, I think, right now. And enjoy the moment. Not to put too much pressure on myself. Of course, I love winning. I want to win. But more than anything, I just want to get the best out of myself. If I can do that, then I’ll be fine.

Williams last lifted a title at the 2016 Taiwan Open. Since then, she has made it to four finals, losing all. Her last appearance in a final was at the 2017 WTA Finals, which she ended up losing to Caroline Wozniacki.

The last time Williams won a Grand Slam title was at the 2008 Wimbledon, by beating Serena. And the last time she reached a Major final was at the 2017 Wimbledon, where she lost to Garbine Muguruza.

The seven-time Grand Slam singles champion is also playing doubles along with countrywoman Hailey Baptiste. The pair defeated Eugenie Bouchard and Clervie Ngounoue 6-3, 6-1 and will next lock horns with second seeds Taylor Townsend and Zhang Shuai.

Williams will also be playing at the US Open, where she won singles titles in 2000 and 2001. She has paired up with ATP ace Reilly Opelka for mixed doubles.

Also read: Venus Williams Reveals Her Signature Wave and Twirl Celebration is Inspired by Anne Hathaway’s ‘The Princess Diaries’