Venus Williams makes winning return to tennis aged 45
The all-American pair defeated compatriot Clervie Ngounoue and the retiring Eugenie Bouchard 6-3, 6-1 in the round of 16 for Williams' first victory on the WTA Tour since August 2023, when she defeated Veronika Kudermetova in the opening round of the Cincinnati Open.
Williams, 45, gave her signature twirl after the match as she took in the adulation of the capacity crowd.
'It's just nice to be able to play,' Williams said after the match, per the Associated Press.
'Where I am at this year is so much different 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.'
Williams told NBC earlier this month that she had undergone surgery to remove fibroids from her uterus, a condition she said had affected her career and life for years.
'At the end of the day, it doesn't really matter if your health is not there,' she added. 'So, it definitely put it in perspective for me and maybe made it easier to make the decision to maybe come back out here and maybe play even freer.'
It was the first time Williams had stepped onto the court at all for an official match since an opening-round defeat to Diana Shnaider at the Miami Open in March 2024. Her last doubles match was almost three years ago.
Williams, who is currently without a ranking in singles or doubles, has won seven grand slam singles titles and 14 in doubles alongside youngster sister Serena, as well as two mixed doubles titles in 1998.
After the win, Williams joked that her and Baptiste should have partnered up much sooner.
'I think, from the first point, I could see that we were going to be a good team,' she said. 'We just should have started playing earlier, years ago, right? I think Serena was just in the way.'
Williams, who accepted wild cards to compete in the singles and doubles, will make her return in the singles competition when she faces American Peyton Stearns in the opening round on Tuesday.

Try Our AI Features
Explore what Daily8 AI can do for you:
Comments
No comments yet...
Related Articles


CBC
an hour ago
- CBC
Time is undefeated, but Venus Williams and Manny Pacquiao display how athletes can age gracefully
Social Sharing Eight-division world boxing champion Manny Pacquiao used ring I.Q. and boxing geometry to overcome height and reach deficits in his title fight against Mario Barrios, earning a controversial draw against a bigger, stronger, harder-hitting opponent. And if you think we're re-heating headlines from the Pac Man's late-2000s heyday, think again. That bout happened last Saturday in Las Vegas. Barrios, the World Boxing Council welterweight champion, is 30. Pacquiao, who last fought in August 2021, will be 47 in December. If he had edged out one more round on two judges' scorecards, he'd have become the first boxer in history to win world titles in four different decades. Even if he didn't defeat Barrios, Pacquiao earned a victory over age and expectations. Three days later Venus Williams, 45, ended two year layoff from pro tennis, entered the D.C. Open as a wildcard, and dispatched Peyton Stearns, a player roughly half her age, to reach the round of 16. These back-to-back triumphs for 80s babies offer more than a glimmer of hope for those of us old enough to wake up with aches we can't explain. They're more like a beacon, and a compelling argument against one of the most rock-solid axioms in sport and life. If time really is undefeated, how do you explain this weekend? Easily. But if we look at Pacquiao and Williams' performances as self-awareness success stories, and case studies in the value of choosing your opportunities wisely, we might learn something from these last few days. First, let's acknowledge that Pacquiao and Williams defied recent sports medicine trends just by reaching the arena in one piece. We just finished watching an NBA Playoffs in which two star players younger than age 30 – Tyrese Haliburton and Jayson Tatum – suffered a ruptured achilles tendon, an injury we normally associate with advanced age and high mileage. The third NBA star to tear his achilles tendon this post-season, Damian Lillard, turned 35 last week. Age matters at the extremes Against the backdrop, watching Pacquiao and Williams roll back the odometer looks even more impressive. They both turned pro during Bill Clinton's first term as president. If you can't remember that far back, that's the point. This kind of longevity might not be unprecedented, but it's rare. Let's also keep in mind that age matters at the extremes. It's why a 9.8 sprinter can stroll unrecognized through most U.S. cities, but a high schooler who breaks 10-flat becomes a minor internet celebrity. And it's why masters sports group athletes into cohorts that span five years, accounting for a sort of reverse puberty. In terms of strength and muscle mass, 55 and 60 years old are as different as 15 and 20. Age classifications matter, so when middle-aged athletes enter open competition, we're right to view their performances through the prism of their age. That's why so many people are classifying Pacquiao's draw against Barrios, a competitive fight by the stats, as a robbery. Barrios landed more punches, but if you think the intangibles favoured Pacquiao it's reasonable to see those two factors evening out to produce a draw. But Pacquiao, as we noted, is 46. At that age, even people who train daily are more likely to have arthritis than visible abs. Barrios, a top-ranked welterweight 16 years Pacquiao's junior, should have handled him, but Pacquiao kept rallying and landing punches and weathering Barrios' offence. It wasn't the fight most of us envisioned. There's a difference, however, outperforming expectations, which Pacquiao did, and winning a fight, which he didn't. There's also a gap between winning a bout, which one judge said Barrios did, and winning convincingly. But if you factor in Pacquiao's age, simply keeping pace with Barrios seems like a win. With Williams, there's no "seems like." She took the first set 6-3, and the second 6-4, so there's nothing to debate, not even whether Peak Venus Williams would have dispatched Stearns even more quickly. We're still discussing an all-time great, after all. Timing is everything But this weekend's results aren't evidence that Pacquiao and Williams have figured out how to freeze time. It's the opposite. Their success shows they've made smart adjustments for the aging process. You'll note, for example, that Pacquiao's surprise draw and Williams' convincing win came on night one, fresh off long layoffs. Given what we understand now about the art, science, and importance of recovery for older athletes, we know Pacquiao and Williams entered these contests with fully charged batteries, and would likely feel different on the last day of a long season. Which is to say, for those of us trying to perform physically even though we're closer to 50 than we are to 40, timing matters. And so do opponents. Stearns is an NCAA champ, which makes her several echelons better than the best tennis player reading this column. But she also competes in a sport where most elites turn pro instead of playing in college. By her age, Williams was already a nine-year veteran of the WTA tour. Williams is on the downside now, but even her current plateau hovers above most people's ceiling. As for Pacquiao – he chose Barrios for a reason. Among the current champions at 147 pounds, Barrios has the most glaring shortcomings. Defence is one, and a lack of home-run punching power is another. On fight night we learned he was also startstruck, reluctant to let his hands go when he had Pacquiao stunned, and willing to abandon half his offence when Pacquiao complained to the referee about body punches that appeared legal. Pacquiao made it clear that he didn't want Barrios punching him in the stomach, and Barrios, for large stretches of the fight, complied. If Pacquiao had chosen Brian Norman Jr., the hard-hitting W.B.O. champion, for his comeback fight, we'd be looking at one of two outcomes – peeling Pacquiao off the canvas or retrieving him from the rafters. Norman hits that hard. But if you're staying active deep into middle age, and trying to find inspiration in Pacquiao and Williams' success, that's the point. It's not just okay to scale back your goals and challenges. It's smart. Pacquiao is as unlikely to unify the welterweight title as Williams is to capture another Grand Slam, but it doesn't matter. They're still overperforming relative to the restraints that age places on all of us, and highlighting one more distinction few of us had considered until now. The one between aging gracefully and aging forcefully.


CBC
2 hours ago
- CBC
7 questions with Luguentz Dort, Montreal's recently crowned NBA champion
From celebrating his recent feat to playing with his dogs, the Oklahoma City Thunder forward opens up about what he's experiencing as an NBA champion.


National Post
4 hours ago
- National Post
MLS beats Liga MX 3-1 in All-Star Game
AUSTIN, Texas — Sam Surridge, Tai Baribo and Brian White scored goals and Major League Soccer defeated Liga MX of Mexico 3-1 in the MLS All-Star Game on Wednesday night playing without Lionel Messi. Article content Messi and his Inter Miami teammate, Jordi Alba, both face possible league suspensions for their team's next match against Cincinnati on Saturday for missing the All-Star game. Article content Article content 'Messi's the greatest,' MLS coach Nico Estevez said. 'Playing with him and coaching him would be something amazing. But we have to show respect for the guys that showed up today. They did great. It's a special week, a unique event. Not everyone can enjoy this. I'm fortunate.' Article content Liga MX's James Rodriguez also chose not to play in the game played in front of more than 20,000 fans at Q2 Stadium. Article content MLS has defeated Liga MX three times in four tries. Last year Liga MX won 4-1 in Columbus, Ohio. The MLS All-Stars won in 2022 and beat Liga MX on penalty kicks after a 1-1 draw a year prior. Article content Messi has yet to appear in an MLS All-Star Game. He missed the game last year with an injury. Messi is currently tied with Nashville's Surridge for the MLS lead in goals with 18. Article content Surridge scored another goal on Wednesday, from the middle of the box, heading in to the lower right corner a ball directed by LAFC's Denis Bouanga in the 28th minute. Article content The opportunity developed after Bouanga had a point-blank attempt stopped by Liga MX goalkeeper Luis Malagon (Club America). Bouanga hustled to retrieve the long rebound and sent it to Surridge. Article content Article content Before the goal, both teams had attempts rejected with diving stops by Luis Malagon and Austin FC's Brad Stuver in the 13th and 18th minutes. Article content MLS went ahead 2-0 in the 51st minute when Diego Rossi (Columbus) passed ahead to Baribo (Philadelphia), whose right footed shot from the center of the box made it to the lower left corner of the goal. Article content Liga MX closed the gap to 2-1 just 13 minutes later when Gilberto Mora (Club Tijuana) converted a pass from Elias Montiel (Pachuca) from the middle of the box. Article content 'We had moments when we played good soccer,' Liga MX coach Andre Jardine said. Article content Liga MX's bid to tie the match was snubbed when a shot by Diber Cambindo (Necaxa) was stopped by Yohei Takaoka (Vancouver) in the 75th minute. Article content White (Vancouver) finished the scoring in the 80th minute. Article content Baribo ranks fourth in MLS with 14 goals and White has scored 11 as they chase Messi and Surridge. Article content 'They are competitive,' Estevez said. 'One scores and the other says 'I have to score.' Brian in the end said 'I have to score.' ' Article content