Venus Williams, 45, shocks Peyton Stearns in DC comeback

WASHINGTON, DC—Venus Williams made a triumphant return to singles action at the Mubadala Citi DC Open on Tuesday, stunning Peyton Stearns, 6-3, 6-4 to win her first match in almost two years.

"I'm just trying to figure out how many wins will it take before I'm off COBRA," Williams joked after the match. "I haven't asked the WTA yet, but I gotta just keep winning until finally my insurance kicks back in, so..."

The 45-year-old former world No. 1, who becomes the oldest woman to win a WTA match since Martina Navratilova in 2004, had been off the court since March 2024 and hadn't won a match since the 2023 Cincinnati Open (d. Veronika Kudermetova). But after a winning doubles effort with fellow American Hailey Baptiste on Monday, Williams showed she could still own Stadium Court all on her own, winning in one hour and 37 minutes.

"Going into the match, I know I have the ability to win, but it's all about actually winning. So this is the best result, to play a good match and win. I'm here with my friends, family, people I love, and the fans, too, who I love and they love me, so this has been just a beautiful night."

Williams shocked the tennis world last month when the DC Open announced she had accepted a wild card into the WTA 500 tournament, having not competed in over 16 months.

"I'm just here for now," Williams had said in her Media Day press conference on Sunday. "Who knows? Maybe there's more. Like I said, I hold my cards close, but at the moment, I'm focused just on this.

"I haven't played in a year. There is no doubt I can play tennis, but obviously coming back to play matches, it takes time to get in the swing of things. I definitely feel I'll play well. I'm still the same player. I'm a big hitter. I hit big. This is my brand."

Read more: Love keeps Williams grounded ahead of DC return

That brand was on display in the doubles, and Williams quickly turned back the clock in singles, as well, recovering from an early break against Stearns, a 23-year-old who earned a career-high ranking of No. 28 earlier this spring.

Stearns played tight tennis as Williams soared, serving out the opening set and rallying from a 1-3 deficit to take a 5-3 lead in the second

A missed return on match point kept Stearns in the game but Williams continued to force the issue, shaking off a second missed match point and outfoxing her younger opponent with a deftly struck lob. As the game ticked past the 10-minute mark, the elder Williams sister narrowly missed third and fourth match points and Stearns held on to force her illustrious opponent to serve for the match.

Williams missed out on a fith match point due to a double fault, but earned a sixth after saving a break point. Finally over the finish line, Williams let loose her signature twirl, delighting the DC crowd.

Up next for the seven-time Grand Slam champion will be No. 5 seed Magdalena Freçh, who defeated Ukrainian qualifier Yuliia Starodubtseva in straight sets to win her first round.