Venus Williams makes a winning return to action at the age of 45
She and fellow American Baptiste proved too strong for Eugenie Bouchard and Clervie Ngounoue as they triumphed 6-3 6-1 in a last-16 encounter that lasted 72 minutes.
She's back 🤩
The one and only @Venuseswilliams returns to court.#MubadalaCitiDCOpen pic.twitter.com/Sv6jO8qDu5
— wta (@WTA) July 21, 2025
Her comeback will continue as she takes on another American in Peyton Stearns in the first round of the singles. It is Williams' first appearances in a WTA Tour event since March 2024.
'It was great to come out here and see the energy,' Williams said on Sky Sports after the match. 'As we were walking out to the court, we knew this was going to be a match.
'Our opponents actually played very well. It wasn't easy for us but we brought it together quickly as a team. It was inspiring to be out here. I love this game and still hitting it big.'
Williams joked she wished she could have partnered with Baptiste, the 23-year-old world number 50, years earlier rather than playing with her sister Serena.
She said: 'I think from the first point, I could see that we were going to be a good team. We just should have started playing earlier, years ago, right? I think Serena was just in the way!'
Britain's Emma Raducanu scored an eye-catching win on her doubles debut alongside former Wimbledon champion Elena Rybakina.
Competing together for the first time, the duo fought back from an early deficit to beat fourth seeds Tereza Mihalikova and Britain's Olivia Nicholls 2-6 7-6 (4) 11-9 in a decisive tie-break set.
It was a notable win for Raducanu and Rybakina against opponents who triumphed at the Berlin Open last month and also reached the final at Indian Wells earlier this year.
Look at what it means!!! ❤️🔥
2023 champion Dan Evans digs deep to overcome Bergs 3-6 6-4 6-3 to progress in Washington. @mubadalacitidc | #MubadalaCitiDCOpen pic.twitter.com/BBnWEPu1dA
— ATP Tour (@atptour) July 21, 2025
British number one Katie Boulter fell at the first hurdle in the singles as she went out 3-6 4-6 to Greece's Maria Sakkari.
Boulter lost her opening service game in each set and was never able to regain the initiative.
Earlier, former men's singles champion Dan Evans enjoyed a triumphant return to the tournament as he came from behind to beat Zizou Bergs.
Evans, the veteran former British number one, triumphed in 2023 but opted not to defend his title last year as he focused on the Olympics.
The 35-year-old was awarded a wildcard to participate this time and took advantage as he overcame a slow start to beat the Belgian Bergs, the world number 52, 3-6 6-4 6-3.
Bergs looked to have resisted the fightback when he edged back ahead with a break in the final set but Evans powered back to secure victory by winning four successive games.
'I didn't just want to take the wildcard and lose,' Evans said on Sky Sports. 'I felt I needed to pay them back a bit and try to 'defend' my title, because I couldn't last year.
'It was great, really enjoyed it, but it was rally difficult. There wasn't much rhythm. He played very well and I was lucky to come through that.'
Hashtags
Try Our AI Features
Explore what Daily8 AI can do for you:
Comments
No comments yet...
Related Articles
Glasgow Times
19 minutes ago
- Glasgow Times
Lottie Woad fires final-round 68 to claim victory on her professional debut
The 21-year-old former world number one amateur from Surrey finished with a final round score of 68 after four days of competition at Dundonald Links. It was Woad's first victory since turning professional earlier in July. She entered the final round with a two-stroke lead and made birdies on the second, third, 13th and 14th before hitting a bogey on the 16th. Lottie Woad wins the @Womens_Scottish on her professional debut 🏆#WSO25 — Ladies European Tour (@LETgolf) July 27, 2025 Woad made par on the 17th before a pinpoint approach set up a birdie on the 18th to wrap up the title. She becomes the first player to win on their professional Ladies European Tour debut since Singapore's Shannon Tan at the Magical Kenya Ladies Open in February 2024. Woad said on Sky Sports: 'It's a pretty good outcome, I guess! Definitely wasn't expecting to win my first event, but I knew I was playing well so I was kind of hoping to contend. 'I played really solid today. It was pretty nice in the end, could lay up on the par five. 'Links golf is really fun, don't get to play it too often. This is my first time playing links golf since the Open last year. I wasn't exactly sure how it would go, but it went fine!' Woad won the Women's Scottish Open on her professional debut (Steve Welsh/PA) Woad finished three shots ahead of second-placed Kim Hyo-joo, who fired seven birdies and three bogeys in a mixed fourth round. Julia Lopez Ramirez and Kim Sei-young shared third on 14 under, with world number one Nelly Korda a shot back in fifth. English duo Alice Hewson and Charley Hull finished tied for 10th and 21st, respectively. Attention now turns to the AIG Women's Open at Royal Porthcawl, which begins on Thursday. Looking ahead to that tournament, Woad added: 'Even if I hadn't won this week, I'd still be trying to win it and just trying to be up there really is all you can ask for going into the final day.'
South Wales Argus
20 minutes ago
- South Wales Argus
Lottie Woad fires final-round 68 to claim victory on her professional debut
The 21-year-old former world number one amateur from Surrey finished with a final round score of 68 after four days of competition at Dundonald Links. It was Woad's first victory since turning professional earlier in July. She entered the final round with a two-stroke lead and made birdies on the second, third, 13th and 14th before hitting a bogey on the 16th. Lottie Woad wins the @Womens_Scottish on her professional debut 🏆#WSO25 — Ladies European Tour (@LETgolf) July 27, 2025 Woad made par on the 17th before a pinpoint approach set up a birdie on the 18th to wrap up the title. She becomes the first player to win on their professional Ladies European Tour debut since Singapore's Shannon Tan at the Magical Kenya Ladies Open in February 2024. Woad said on Sky Sports: 'It's a pretty good outcome, I guess! Definitely wasn't expecting to win my first event, but I knew I was playing well so I was kind of hoping to contend. 'I played really solid today. It was pretty nice in the end, could lay up on the par five. 'Links golf is really fun, don't get to play it too often. This is my first time playing links golf since the Open last year. I wasn't exactly sure how it would go, but it went fine!' Woad won the Women's Scottish Open on her professional debut (Steve Welsh/PA) Woad finished three shots ahead of second-placed Kim Hyo-joo, who fired seven birdies and three bogeys in a mixed fourth round. Julia Lopez Ramirez and Kim Sei-young shared third on 14 under, with world number one Nelly Korda a shot back in fifth. English duo Alice Hewson and Charley Hull finished tied for 10th and 21st, respectively. Attention now turns to the AIG Women's Open at Royal Porthcawl, which begins on Thursday. Looking ahead to that tournament, Woad added: 'Even if I hadn't won this week, I'd still be trying to win it and just trying to be up there really is all you can ask for going into the final day.'
South Wales Guardian
an hour ago
- South Wales Guardian
Lottie Woad fires final-round 68 to claim victory on her professional debut
The 21-year-old former world number one amateur from Surrey finished with a final round score of 68 after four days of competition at Dundonald Links. It was Woad's first victory since turning professional earlier in July. She entered the final round with a two-stroke lead and made birdies on the second, third, 13th and 14th before hitting a bogey on the 16th. Lottie Woad wins the @Womens_Scottish on her professional debut 🏆#WSO25 — Ladies European Tour (@LETgolf) July 27, 2025 Woad made par on the 17th before a pinpoint approach set up a birdie on the 18th to wrap up the title. She becomes the first player to win on their professional Ladies European Tour debut since Singapore's Shannon Tan at the Magical Kenya Ladies Open in February 2024. Woad said on Sky Sports: 'It's a pretty good outcome, I guess! Definitely wasn't expecting to win my first event, but I knew I was playing well so I was kind of hoping to contend. 'I played really solid today. It was pretty nice in the end, could lay up on the par five. 'Links golf is really fun, don't get to play it too often. This is my first time playing links golf since the Open last year. I wasn't exactly sure how it would go, but it went fine!' Woad finished three shots ahead of second-placed Kim Hyo-joo, who fired seven birdies and three bogeys in a mixed fourth round. Julia Lopez Ramirez and Kim Sei-young shared third on 14 under, with world number one Nelly Korda a shot back in fifth. English duo Alice Hewson and Charley Hull finished tied for 10th and 21st, respectively. Attention now turns to the AIG Women's Open at Royal Porthcawl, which begins on Thursday. Looking ahead to that tournament, Woad added: 'Even if I hadn't won this week, I'd still be trying to win it and just trying to be up there really is all you can ask for going into the final day.'
