“Winning knows no age”: Venus Williams talks playing on her own terms in Cincinnati

CINCINNATI, Ohio—Few headlines about the comeback of Venus Williams have omitted mention of her age.

“At 45, Venus Williams is back on tour”—Slate.

“At 45, Venus Williams still can’t quit tennis”—The Wall Street Journal.

“Venus Williams makes winning return to tennis aged 45”—CNN.

For the former world No. 1, age has been the least of her concerns.

“I feel great,” said Williams ahead of her return to the Cincinnati Open. “If there’s the one thing I know, it’s that you’re never too young or too old to win or to lose. Winning and losing knows no age.”

Williams would know: she won her first WTA match at 14 years old, lighting up at the memory of a Rolling Stones concert playing next door.

“They didn’t know I was playing next door,” clarified the wild card, who will play Jessica Bouzas Maneiro in her third match after a 16-month lay-off. “They still don’t know! So, Mick Jagger, my message to you is that I was playing my first professional match next to you.”

Injuries and health struggles—not age—have kept Williams off the tour for over a year. She underwent surgery to remove uterine fibroids in 2024 and quietly fell off the WTA rankings. While the tour ostensibly moved on, the seven-time Grand Slam champion continued to grind on the practice court.

I do what I do because I want to live life the way I want to, unapologetically, with no regrets, on my terms. Do my terms always come out the way I want them to? No. But at least I tried to live on my own terms, and that’s super important to me. That would be my advice: make your terms, and don’t surrender. Venus Williams

“At that point, I was thinking just about recovering for my health. But I think tennis is always in the back of my head. I felt like I had time, as strange as that sounds!” Williams said with a laugh. “I felt like I had time just to get well. When I was on the court, I was always working on my game. I didn’t just let it all fall apart. Even if it was just a half hour, I still wanted to get something out of it.

“It’s obviously no secret that you get great legs and great arms from playing tennis. So, I figured I’d at least keep my figure if that’s the very least we do!”

Williams delivered more than aesthetics in her surprise return to action at the Mubadala Citi DC Open last month. She surprised the tennis world by accepting a wild card months after dismissing the idea of competing at the BNP Paribas Open, where the tournament initially announced her as part of the field.

“I just remember everyone was so happy that I felt sad to let everyone down that I wasn’t playing. I didn’t want to break anyone’s heart by saying I wouldn’t be there. It’s that feeling of really just wanting to give that same love back with my performance.”

She stunned countrywoman Peyton Stearns in straight sets, claiming her first singles victory since 2023 and becoming the oldest woman since Martina Navratilova to win a match in over 20 years. She backed that up on the doubles court, winning a round with young American Hailey Baptiste. Love kept her grounded through her time off tour, she said in her press conferences, and love is what is keeping this comeback going.

“Love is the key, right?” she asked rhetorically. “If you don’t love it, then get out of it if you can, if you have that luxury. Not everyone has that luxury. For me, I think a lot of the motivation over the years has just been to come back in the best health that I can. I never stopped hitting the ball, even when I was away—not as intensely as you would if you we replaying playing tournaments, but still going out there.

“I think that, at the end of the day, you have to live your life on your own terms. Your terms should be yours. It doesn’t matter what anyone else says or what anyone else thinks. If you get to live life on your own terms, it’s a life well-lived, and I firmly believe in that. I do what I do because I want to live life the way I want to, unapologetically, with no regrets, on my terms. Do my terms always come out the way I want them to? No. But at least I tried to live on my own terms, and that’s super important to me. That would be my advice: make your terms, and don’t surrender.”

I don’t think you should ever rule me out. That’s all I can say. Venus Williams

With plans to play at least through the US Open, Williams, who admittedly “keeps her cards close,” was coy about whether the comeback might extend into 2026.

“I’m very much in the moment. I don’t think you should ever rule me out. That’s all I can say.”

What headlines might Williams grab in Queen City?