Love all! Venus Williams serves up victory on court and romance with fiancé Andrea Preti
Venus had an extended hiatus during which she underwent a medical procedure last July to remove fibroids from her uterus.
Venus made a strong showing at the DC Open in Washington this week. The 45-year-old tennis star won her doubles match on Monday, then defeated 23-year-old Peyton Stearns 6-3, 6-4 in singles on Tuesday. Throughout both matches, she showcased her signature powerfulserves and groundstrokes.
The seven-time Grand Slam champion and Olympic gold medallist had secured four Grand Slam titles before Peyton was even born.
But this time it's not just her tennis victories making headlines. Venus is also winning at the game of love, as she's confirmed the long-standing rumours about her engagement to actor Andrea (37).
'My fiancé is here, and he really encouraged me to keep playing. He's never seen me play,' Venus casually revealed.
Venus is now the second-oldest woman to win a tour-level singles match, after Martina Navratilova, who achieved this feat at age 47 in 2004.
She told the Tennis Channel that her focus was to play well and win the match.
'You can still play a good match and lose the match. It's just about putting it all together. It's so rewarding to come back after a layoff and injuries.'
With her Danish-born fiancé in the audience, Venus was aware that not only were the eyes of the tennis world on her but also the loving gaze of Andrea, who moved to Italy with his family as a teenager.
As one-half of the most famous sibling duos in sporting history, alongside her sister Serena, Venus has spent much of her life in the spotlight but has kept her romantic life private.
She dated model Elio Pis in 2012 and Nicholas Hammond in 2017 before finding her perfect match in Andrea.
The couple were first linked in July last year when they were spotted boating together in Nerano, Italy, along the Amalfi Coast.
Since then, they have kept their relationship private, though they were seen together again in January 2025. That same month Venus shared a selfie on her Instagram of them on holiday in the Bahamas, calling her now-fiancé 'the best company'.
Engagement rumours followed, sparked by photos of the tennis legend wearing a diamond ring in Rome. Weeks later she was seen wearing the same ring at Milan Fashion Week.
The man who captured Venus' heart has spent much of his career as a model but has also made a name for himself as an actor and producer.
According to his IMDb biography, Andrea studied acting at the Susan Batson Academy in New York City, after which he landed roles in TV, film and commercials.
He wrote, acted in and directed 2015's Italian movie, One More Day, and has appeared in the Italian TV series A Professor. More recently he starred in the 2023 Italian film Temptation and participated in the Italian reality series La Talpa.
Grand Slam winner Rennae Stubbs asked Venus in the post-match interview how Andrea has supported her comeback journey.
Venus glowingly admitted there were many moments when she simply wanted to relax, but her soon-to-be husband 'encouraged me to get through this'.
She is set to face Magdalena Frech in the second round on Thursday, 24 July, and with the announcement of her engagement, one can expect wedding preparations to be on the horizon soon after.
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