logo
Venus Williams makes return from 16-month layoff at the age of 45

Venus Williams makes return from 16-month layoff at the age of 45

News.com.au6 days ago
Venus Williams has made her return from a 16-month layoff at this week's DC Open, wowing a capacity crowd in a straight sets doubles win alongside Hailey Baptiste over Eugenie Bouchard and Clervie Ngounoue.
She will make her singles return on Tuesday night against Peyton Stearns.
Stars will draw huge crowds, even for doubles.
And Venus, a planetary star like none other still in orbit, still has quite the gravitational pull today in Washington. pic.twitter.com/Cj1d3uoG1b
— Ben Rothenberg (@BenRothenberg) July 21, 2025
The seven-time Grand Slam singles champion says she is not sure of anything beyond this tournament.
The 45-year-old American overcame a serious health scare last year and after enjoying a visit to Wimbledon decided to accept a wildcard into the US capital tournament, the first hardcourt tuneup for the US Open.
'I think I know what I want to do, but I don't always want to talk about it,' Williams said. 'I'm just here for now. And who knows? Maybe there is more. I hold my cards close, but at the moment, I'm focused just on this.'
Williams will open her singles campaign against 23-year-old Stearns, ranked 34th in the world. Stearns won her only WTA title last year on clay at Rabat.
The older sister of 23-time Grand Slam singles champion Serena Williams has not played since a first-round loss at Miami last year.
'My personal goal is to have fun I think right now and enjoy the moment, not put too much pressure on myself,' Venus Williams said.
'I don't know if I define success at this moment in any sort of way other than believing in myself and sticking to my process. That's not easy to do, especially after a layoff. So those are my goals.'
Venus Williams, the 2000 Sydney Olympic singles champion, has won five Wimbledon singles titles and two US Open crowns.
The most recent of her 49 WTA titles came in 2019 at the Taiwan Open. That was the last year she played a full tour schedule.
'I definitely feel I'll play well,' Williams said. 'I'm still the same player. I'm a big hitter. I hit big. This is my brand.
'So it's about hitting big and actually putting it in. So this will be my effort. Put it in the court. That's my main goal.'
A year ago, tennis was far from the most important thing on her mind. 'Yeah, my health journey was very scary. You know, this time a year ago I was preparing to go to surgery,' she said. 'There was no way for me to play tennis or play the US Open … I was just trying to get healthy.
'In this last year, I have been through a lot physically, so to come back and be able to play and hopefully enjoy myself is a great opportunity.'
Williams was feeling well enough to accept a wildcard and a visit to Wimbledon added some inspiration.
'I had been hitting the ball and of course I love the game and the hard courts. It's my favourite surface, what I feel comfortable on. so all those different factors,' Williams said of her choice to play in Washington.
'When I went to Wimbledon this year, I was there for a day and it was so beautiful and exciting. I remembered all the times that I had, and of course the adrenaline, all those things.
'I think just the pure fun of playing the game, the fun of the challenge, overcoming. Those things are very exciting.' The seven Slam singles titles by Williams match the rest of the Washington field, which includes four-time Grand Slam champion Naomi Osaka of Japan.
Orange background

Try Our AI Features

Explore what Daily8 AI can do for you:

Comments

No comments yet...

Related Articles

Tennis world loses its mind over Alex de Minaur as Aussie's beautiful act for rival melts hearts
Tennis world loses its mind over Alex de Minaur as Aussie's beautiful act for rival melts hearts

News.com.au

time7 hours ago

  • News.com.au

Tennis world loses its mind over Alex de Minaur as Aussie's beautiful act for rival melts hearts

Aussie Alex de Minaur has melted hearts with an incredible act of sportsmanship after pulling off a comeback for the ages to claim the Washington Open title. The 26-year-old secured his 10th ATP Tour title in stunning fashion, saving three championship points on his way to a 5-7, 6-1, 7-6 (7-3) victory over Alejandro Davidovich Fokina. De Minaur, who defeated Corentin Moutet in the semi-final and moved up to eighth in the world with Monday's win, but looked to be in a spot of bother, 5-2 down in the third set. He was able to steady but then found himself staring down the barrel of three championship points late in the set, only to break from 30-0 down at 5-4 and force a tie-break. The Aussie incredibly saved his third match point with an impeccable lob that caught the line, giving the Australian enough time to recover and win the point. He then held his nerve to take out the match in a third set tie breaker. It wasn't the first time the Aussie had to save match points in Washington either, saving four against Andrey Rublev earlier in the tournament. So unsurprisingly, in the moment he clinched the match, the Aussie was overcome with emotion, letting out a primal scream and launching the ball into the crowd. He then shook hands at the net with Davidovich Fokina. But in an incredible act of sportsmanship, the Aussie quickly halted his celebrations after he saw his distraught rival slump onto his chair in tears. You can watch the classy moment in the video below De Minaur rushed over to him, sat next to him and put his arm around him, offering words of encouragement. And to start off his speech to the crowd after being crowned champion, de Minaur heaped praise on his rival. 'I want to start with Alejandro, as I told you and your team, you're way too good not to have one of these,' de Minaur said after the match. 'It's coming for sure. You deserved it today. I just got lucky. You are a hell of a competitor and player. No one on the tour wants to play you. 'This is not the end. It's only going up for you.' While Davidovich Fokina paid credit to de Minaur, admitting the Australian 'deserved the win'. 'He was fighting every f***ing ball,' he added. But it was the beautiful moment between the pair that saw the tennis world fall in love with de Minaur even more. 'What an incredible player and even more incredible man, such a great sport,' one fan wrote about de Minaur's act of kindness towards his rival. 'Demon is a class act,' another said. While a third commented: 'Not just a great tennis player but a great guy as well'.

Melbourne captain Max Gawn says he didn't get organised fast enough in the frantic loss to St Kilda
Melbourne captain Max Gawn says he didn't get organised fast enough in the frantic loss to St Kilda

News.com.au

time8 hours ago

  • News.com.au

Melbourne captain Max Gawn says he didn't get organised fast enough in the frantic loss to St Kilda

Melbourne captain Max Gawn concedes he failed to 'nail' the dramatic final few moments of Sunday's stunning loss to St Kilda that has put coach Simon Goodwin's future in the spotlight. But the Demons skipper was adamant Goodwin was his 'favourite coach' and said the blame should lay with the players as he broke down exactly what went wrong. Gawn tried to organise his troops after some centre-circle confusion when St Kilda was given a 6-6-6 free kick, with scores level and just eight seconds on the clock. But that organisation didn't secure an opponent for Saints star Nasiah Wanganeen-Milera, who kicked his second goal in the final minute of the game to deliver his team the greatest comeback in VFL/AFL history and a six-point win with a goal after the siren. 'I'm probably the only one on the field who knows that we got a warning in the second quarter; they tell the ruckman,' Gawn said. 'We were about to step in the circle, and I realised we had about two seconds to find a winger; there wasn't a winger on the other side. From there, I didn't nail it. 'In the end, it's three seconds, so I don't have much time, but I sent (Jack Viney) to the wing and tried to get a forward in – but it was a back that we had too many of. After that free kick happened, we didn't nail it as well.' Melbourne gave up a 46-point three-quarter-time lead as the Saints charged home with nine final quarter goals, including the last two to Wanganeen-Milera that has been labelled the best 60 seconds of football ever. Gawn, who said he didn't play 'my best quarter' in the final stanza, said while it looked like the Demons 'shut up shop', it was just too hard to halt St Kilda's momentum. 'We played pretty well for the first three quarters, but they kicked two or three early in the fourth (quarter) and it's pretty hard to stop momentum, especially the way the Saints were playing,' he told Triple M's Mick in the Morning. 'We started to lose the centre bounce, and then when it's three goals to play with that comeback, it's extremely hard to stop. Leaders, most importantly, were responsible for a bit of that. I didn't play my best last quarter.' The Demons tried to break down the final few minutes in the aftermath, which Gawn said had happened too many times, including against Collingwood when the captain's kick across goals in the dying seconds resulted in a major to the Magpies. Gawn said it seemed his team 'don't know how to win' close games. 'We spent 10 minutes in the rooms before Goody called us in. We talked among ourselves for a little bit, and the mechanism of the last play and try to find out what happened,' he said. 'There's been five times this year where we haven't known how to win; Giants in the first game we lost by a kick-out, Collingwood we lost by a ruckman trying to kick a torp across goal, and then last week against Carlton we stuffed up. Right now, we don't know how to win in those close games which comes down to resilience and ruthlessness. 'We are trying our backsides off, and we all really want to win. We have to learn how to win. We will talk the talk again in training; all our talk is there and then we get to the point, and we don't do it.'

Alex de Minaur beats Alejandro Davidovich Fokina in epic Washington DC Open final
Alex de Minaur beats Alejandro Davidovich Fokina in epic Washington DC Open final

ABC News

time8 hours ago

  • ABC News

Alex de Minaur beats Alejandro Davidovich Fokina in epic Washington DC Open final

Australia's Alex de Minaur has won an epic Washington DC Open final against Alejandro Davidovich Fokina, claiming his 10th singles title 7-3 in the final-set tiebreak. The 5-7, 6-1, 7-6(3) victory gave de Minaur his first championship of 2025, and denied Davidovich Fokina his maiden crown. De Minaur was favoured against his 26th-ranked opponent, but it was clear from the outset he would not have it all his own way as Davidovich Fokina produced some stirring shots to win the first set in over an hour. The Australian number one hit back by tearing through the second set 6-1, before being broken in the fourth game of the decider as Davidovich Fokina jumped out to a 4-1 lead. The 26-year-old served for the match at 5-3 and looked set for his first championship since turning pro in 2017 as he skipped to 30-0, before de Minaur battled back with four straight points to get back on serve. Down 15-30 on his serve, de Minaur framed a low volley that snuck over the net and out of his opponent's reach before the pair carried on to the first of six deuces in what turned out to be a 10-minute game, during which de Minaur fought off three match points. Both players overcame any jangling nerves with successive clutch service holds to send the match to a tiebreak. De Minaur got the early mini break to jump out to a 2-0 lead, before being reeled back in to 2-2, only to poke his nose back out in front at 4-2. Davidovich Fokina stayed in it with de Minaur's unforced error to keep it on serve, but the Australian rattled off three straight points to close out the match and win a thrilling decider.

DOWNLOAD THE APP

Get Started Now: Download the App

Ready to dive into a world of global content with local flavor? Download Daily8 app today from your preferred app store and start exploring.
app-storeplay-store