Venus Williams confirms engagement to Andrea Preti after historic tennis victory

Yahoo

4 days ago

Venus Williams is a soon-to-be bride.
The 45-year-old tennis star confirmed her engagement to actor Andrea Preti during an interview Tuesday after her first tennis singles match in a year. During the post-game conversation, Rennae Stubbs called Williams a 'newly engaged woman,' and the athlete smiled in response.
'Yes, my fiancé is here,' she said, prompting applause from the crowd. She then described how Preti, with whom she had been romantically linked for a year, has made a difference in her life.
'And he really encouraged me to keep playing,' Williams continued. 'There were so many times where I just wanted to coast and kind of chill.'
The Grand Slam champion then acknowledged how difficult it can be to play tennis, given the immense training she has to do.
'You guys don't know how much work goes into this, like it's a nine to five except you're running the whole time. Lifting weights and just like dying, and then you repeat it the next time,' she quipped.
She added about her fiancé: 'So he encouraged me to get through this, and it's wonderful to be here. He's never seen me play.'
During a match-up at the Mubadala Citi DC Open in Washington, D.C. Tuesday night, Williams beat Peyton Stearns by a 6-3, 6-4 score. She then became the second-oldest woman to win a tour-level singles match in professional tennis. This was also the first singles match Williams has won since 2023.
Off the court, Williams and Preti were first romantically linked in July 2024, after they were spotted on a boat in Nerano, Italy, along the Amalfi Coast.
While the pair has kept their relationship out of the spotlight, they were rumored to be engaged in February. At the time, photos obtained by People showed Williams wearing a sparkling diamond ring on her left hand during a tennis practice session.
Fuel was added to the fire later that month when Preti and Williams attended a show during Milan Fashion Week, with the tennis star once again wearing a diamond ring on her left ring finger.
Venus Williams on her fiancées support after getting 1st singles win since 2023'My fiancée is here. He really encouraged me to keep playing. Do you know how hard it is to play tennis? It's 9 to 5 except you're running the whole time' 😭😭😭😭 pic.twitter.com/iEb9gls5kP
— The Tennis Letter (@TheTennisLetter) July 23, 2025
Williams' recent tennis win came weeks after she revealed her struggle with a medical condition that left her with debilitating symptoms.
Speaking to NBC News Correspondent Zinhle Essamuah on Today earlier this month, Williams detailed her ongoing struggle with benign tumors in the uterus known as fibroids. The condition can cause symptoms like 'extreme pain,' as Williams described.
'You know, getting so much in pain that maybe you throw up,' she said 'Or you can't get off the ground… I missed practices because of that. Just, you know, hugging the toilet.'
She initially believed her symptoms were related to Sjögren's syndrome, an autoimmune disease she's lived with for years.
After seeing an ad online for a fibroids clinic, Williams did some research, realizing her experience wasn't normal as so many doctors led her to believe. She underwent a myomectomy — a procedure that removes the fibroids while keeping the uterus intact — a year ago under the care of a doctor from NYU's Langone Health's Center for Fibroid Care. With July being Fibroid Awareness Month, Williams felt the need to share her story.
'You can be denied the best health care no matter who you are. And that you have to be your own advocate,' Williams said. 'Hopefully, someone will see this interview and say, 'I can get help. I don't have to live this way.''