Venus Williams made a triumphant return to singles tennis on Tuesday night, defeating 23-year-old Peyton Stearns 6-3, 6-4 at the DC Open and becoming the second-oldest woman in history to win a tour-level singles match.

At 45, Williams is now only behind Martina Navratilova, who won a match at age 47 in 2004. This marks Williams’ first singles match in over a year and her first singles victory since August 2023 in Cincinnati. She had been sidelined following surgery to remove uterine fibroids and was listed as “inactive” by the WTA until this week.

“Each week was a mental battle,” Williams said of her comeback journey. “Some days I felt I wasn’t ready. Some weeks I made progress. But it was always a head game.”

Williams, once ranked world No. 1, showed flashes of her old dominance, firing aces above 110 mph and landing powerful groundstrokes. The crowd at the 7,000-seat stadium rallied behind her, cheering loudly from the moment she stepped onto the court.

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Backed by decades of experience and seven Grand Slam singles titles — four of which came before Stearns was even born — Williams broke Stearns early and never looked back. Though she needed six match points to seal the win, she did so emphatically with a 112 mph serve that forced an error from her opponent.

“I really wanted to win — for myself and to show what’s possible,” Williams said after the match, adding that maintaining good health remains her biggest priority.

Stearns, currently ranked 35th, praised her opponent: “She played some ball tonight. Her movement and serve were on point — more than I expected.”

Venus now advances to face fifth-seeded Magdalena Frech, 27, in the next round. Determined and battle-ready, she said, “It’s never easy out here. But I’m ready to fight for every match.”

Source: Agency