Venus Williams courts attention in Washington as she wins on return to tennis

WASHINGTON — Competing at a tournament for the first time in more than a year, and in doubles for the first time in nearly three, Venus Williams hit a big serve on her initial delivery at the DC Open on Monday and, curiously, it was wiped out by a foot-fault call.

The 45-year-old Williams, an owner of 21 Grand Slam titles across singles and doubles, smiled incredulously, as did the other three players involved in the match in front of a full crowd that eventually included NBA star Kevin Durant. Williams, though, carried on, displaying her trademark power on some strokes, while teaming up with Hailey Baptiste for a 6-3, 6-1 victory against 2014 Wimbledon runner-up Eugenie Bouchard and Clervie Ngounoue.

"It's just nice to be able to play. Where I am at this year is so much different to where I was at last year. It's night and day, being able to be here and prepare for the tournament, as opposed to preparing for surgery a year ago," said Williams, who spoke in an interview with NBC earlier this month about having a procedure to remove fibroids from her uterus. "At the end of the day, it doesn't really matter if your health is not there. So, it definitely put it in perspective for me, and maybe made it easier to make the decision to come back out here and, maybe, play even freer."

Her most recent match had been at the Miami Open in March 2024, and she said Sunday she had two goals in Washington: to have fun and to win.

She did both — winning, yes, and contributing plenty to the cause, but also having a good time, high-fiving or fist-bumping Baptiste after some of their best points, laughing after others and waving to an appreciative group of fans that roared over and over for Williams. She and Baptiste hugged when it ended.

"The crowd was insane. From the moment we stepped out of the players area, you could kind of feel the buzz. Walking onto the court, just felt all the love for the both of us," said Baptiste, a 23-year-old from Washington. "I was obviously very nervous to play with her. I didn't want to let her down, first match back and everything."

It was full at the 3,000-seat John Harris Court, where Durant showed up late in the first set, while across the way at the 7,500-capacity main stadium, only a few dozen spectators were scattered in the stands for an all-American singles match in which Reilly Opelka defeated Murphy Cassone.

Asked to comment about the court assignments, tournament director Daniel Vallverdu said: "The tournament works to balance full singles and doubles ATP and WTA schedules, while coordinating with broadcaster requests for court assignments."

When Williams, wearing a white visor, as she so often has, was introduced before participating in doubles for the first time since the 2022 US Open — when her partner was younger sister Serena — the stadium announcer mentioned that Venus has "one of the best serves in the history of the game", that she "turned pro in the last century" and "has won everything".

That includes seven major singles trophies — five at Wimbledon, two at the US Open — and an additional 14 in doubles with Serena, plus four Olympic gold medals.

"She's 14 years older than me and still plugging away," said Bouchard, 31, a former top-five player who announced that next week's tournament in Montreal will be the last of her career. "I have nothing but respect for her. She's such a legend. That was a pretty cool crowd for a doubles match."

They sure were into it, too, standing with phone cameras raised high when Venus first appeared at the court — and again when it ended.

There will be other opportunities to see her this week: In singles, Williams was scheduled to play Tuesday night against Peyton Stearns, a 23-year-old American currently ranked No 35, who won NCAA singles and team championships for the University of Texas.

"I have been training for months to get to this moment," Williams said.

Agencies via Xinhua