logo
Venus Williams wins doubles match in return to tourney play

Venus Williams wins doubles match in return to tourney play

Canada News.Net5 days ago
(Photo credit: Geoff Burke-Imagn Images)
Venus Williams marked her return to the WTA Tour by teaming up with Washington native Hailey Baptiste and defeating Eugenie Bouchard of Canada and Clervie Ngounoue 6-3, 6-1, in a first-round doubles match at the Mubadala Citi D.C. Open on Monday.
Williams, 45, had not competed since March 2024 at the Miami Open. Earning a wild card to compete in D.C., the seven-time major singles champion will face 23-year-old Peyton Stearns in singles competition in the featured match on Tuesday night.
Three thousand fans -- including NBA star and tennis fan Kevin Durant -- packed cozy John Harris Court to witness Williams' return and cheer on her partner, one of their hometown favorites. The Williams-Stearns match will be played on the main Stadium Court and will likely be filled as well.
Williams will be the oldest woman to compete at a WTA tour-level main draw match since Kimiko Date (then 46) took the court in Tokyo in 2018. Should Williams upset the 35th-ranked Stearns, she would become the oldest player to earn a victory since Martina Navratilova won a match at Wimbledon in 2004 as a 47-year-old.
Moreover, Williams and Reilly Opelka have signed up for the newly-formatted mixed doubles competition at this year's U.S. Open. They would need a wild-card entry to compete in that event, to be held on Aug. 19-20, before the singles and doubles competitions get underway on Aug. 25.
Orange background

Try Our AI Features

Explore what Daily8 AI can do for you:

Comments

No comments yet...

Related Articles

Blue Jays pour it on late to win third straight in Detroit
Blue Jays pour it on late to win third straight in Detroit

Canada News.Net

time4 hours ago

  • Canada News.Net

Blue Jays pour it on late to win third straight in Detroit

(Photo credit: Rick Osentoski-Imagn Images) Bo Bichette broke a scoreless deadlock with a two-run single in the eighth inning and the streaking Toronto Blue Jays downed the host Detroit Tigers 6-1 on Saturday. Nathan Lukes supplied a two-run homer and George Springer and Vladimir Guerrero Jr. added solo homers for Toronto, which has won four straight and eight of nine since the All-Star break. Braydon Fisher (4-0) notched the win in relief. The Tigers have dropped six straight and 12 of their last 13. The game featured a pitchers' duel between starters Kevin Gausman and Tarik Skubal. Gausman limited the Tigers to one hit and one walk with 10 strikeouts in six innings. Skubal allowed five hits and three walks with seven strikeouts in six innings. Toronto's Alejandro Kirk, who doubled to right with two out in the second, served as the game's first baserunner. Jake Rogers was the Tigers' first baserunner after hitting a single with two outs in the third. Toronto had runners in scoring position the next inning as Guerrero Jr. singled with one out and Bichette followed with a double. Catcher Rogers picked off Guerrero to get the second out. A huge defensive play by Detroit center fielder Matt Vierling in the sixth kept the game scoreless. The Blue Jays loaded the bases with one out as Springer singled and Guerrero and Bichette drew walks. Tyler Heineman then smacked a seemingly go-ahead hit to center. The ball dropped in front of Vierling, but he scooped it and gunned it home in time for Rogers to tag out Springer. Addison Barger then struck out to leave the bases loaded. In the top of the eighth, Joey Loperfido led off with a pinch-hit single against Will Vest (5-2). Springer followed with another single and both runners advanced on a wild pitch. After a groundout, Bichette smacked a single to knock in both runners. Toronto padded its lead in the ninth against Chase Lee. After Ernie Clement hit a leadoff single, Lukes smashed a homer to right. With two out, Springer and Guerrero blasted consecutive solo shots to make it 6-0. Riley Greene's RBI groundout in the ninth prevented the shutout.

Leylah Fernandez beats Rybakina, and Anna Kalinskaya defeats Raducanu to reach the Washington final
Leylah Fernandez beats Rybakina, and Anna Kalinskaya defeats Raducanu to reach the Washington final

Toronto Star

time6 hours ago

  • Toronto Star

Leylah Fernandez beats Rybakina, and Anna Kalinskaya defeats Raducanu to reach the Washington final

WASHINGTON (AP) — Leylah Fernandez will be trying to win her first WTA title of the season, and Anna Kalinskaya will seek the first of her career when they meet each other in the final of the hard-court D.C. Open. Fernandez, the runner-up at the 2021 U.S. Open, hit 12 aces and picked up her second victory of the week against a top-20 opponent by beating 2022 Wimbledon champion Elena Rybakina 6-7 (2), 7-6 (3), 7-6 (3) across 3 hours, 16 minutes in the semifinals Saturday.

Leylah Fernandez beats Rybakina, and Anna Kalinskaya defeats Raducanu to reach the Washington final
Leylah Fernandez beats Rybakina, and Anna Kalinskaya defeats Raducanu to reach the Washington final

Winnipeg Free Press

time6 hours ago

  • Winnipeg Free Press

Leylah Fernandez beats Rybakina, and Anna Kalinskaya defeats Raducanu to reach the Washington final

WASHINGTON (AP) — Leylah Fernandez will be trying to win her first WTA title of the season, and Anna Kalinskaya will seek the first of her career when they meet each other in the final of the hard-court D.C. Open. Fernandez, the runner-up at the 2021 U.S. Open, hit 12 aces and picked up her second victory of the week against a top-20 opponent by beating 2022 Wimbledon champion Elena Rybakina 6-7 (2), 7-6 (3), 7-6 (3) across 3 hours, 16 minutes in the semifinals Saturday. Kalinskaya needed less than half as much time to eliminate Emma Raducanu 6-4, 6-3 with the help of 14 backhand winners in the other women's semifinal. It was Raducanu who defeated Fernandez for the championship at Flushing Meadows four years ago. Both finalists are unseeded. Canada's Fernandez, who is 22 years old, is ranked 36th; Russia's Kalinskaya, 26, is ranked 48th. Kalinskaya moved into her third tour-level final. She went 0-2 in title matches last season. Fernandez, who got past top-seeded Jessica Pegula earlier in the week, owns three titles. Sunday's matchup will be her seventh career final. The men's semifinals were scheduled for later Saturday: No. 7 Alex de Minaur vs. Corentin Moutet, and No. 4 Ben Shelton vs. No. 12 Alejandro Davidovich Fokina. Thursdays Keep up to date on sports with Mike McIntyre's weekly newsletter. ___ AP tennis:

DOWNLOAD THE APP

Get Started Now: Download the App

Ready to dive into a world of global content with local flavor? Download Daily8 app today from your preferred app store and start exploring.
app-storeplay-store