Venus Williams wins doubles match in return to tourney play

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.

--Field Level Media