Venus Williams returns to the tennis courts at 45

She may be 45, but Venus Williams isn't ready to hang up her racquets just yet. As proof, after competing in the doubles with her young compatriot Hailey Baptiste, 23, on July 21 – a victory (6-3, 6-1) against the pair Eugenie Bouchard and Clervie Ngounoue – the former world number one is preparing to make her debut in singles at the WTA 500 tournament in Washington, DC, on Tuesday, July 22, late in the day (Tuesday night to Wednesday, mainland France time).
Invited by the organizers, the Californian is facing another American, Peyton Stearns, currently ranked 35th in the world. Like the latter, who is 23 years old, 23 of the 27 other players in the main draw were not born when Venus Williams made her first professional debut. That was over 30 years ago, in 1994.
Winner of 49 singles tournaments, including seven Grand Slams (five Wimbledons and two US Opens) and an Olympic gold medal in Sydney, Australia, in 2000, Venus Williams has already had an exceptional career. Not to mention the doubles titles she won with her champion sister, Serena (four Australian Opens, two French Opens, six Wimbledons, and two US Opens, among others), who retired in 2022 at the age of 40.
Why this new lap of honor? Why inflict yet another tournament on herself in the summer heat of the United States capital? "Why not? " she retorted at a press conference on July 20. "I like playing here, I love this surface. (…) I'm happy to be here."
“My health journey has been very difficult”If Venus Williams explains "having worked a lot to be able to come back" , it is because her last official match dates back to March 19, 2024, in Miami (Florida), where she lost against the Russian Diana Shnaider (3-6, 3-6). A few weeks later, she underwent removal of uterine fibroids, benign tumors but which can be very painful and disabling, which had caused her to suffer for decades. "My health journey has been very difficult. At this time last year, I was preparing for surgery. I wasn't even thinking about tennis," she recalled to the media.
Since then, Venus Williams has disappeared from the WTA (Women's Tennis Association, the ranking of the world's best players). But the desire remains intact. "I don't know yet what's next for me. Maybe there will be something else, maybe not. I'm just here, now," the player insisted.
This late comeback is reminiscent of that of Martina Navratilova . In 2004, the Czech naturalized American, then aged 47 years and 8 months, won a match in the first round of Wimbledon, thus becoming the oldest tennis player to win a singles title in the Open era, which began in 1968. An example of longevity that the Californian, who claims not to seek to break records, is now helping to prolong.
A committed personalityVenus Williams is not only a big name in her sport, she is also an accomplished businesswoman who has notably launched her own clothing brand, EleVen. Above all, she is a committed personality. In March, in an op-ed published in Vogue , she looked back on her victory at Wimbledon in 2000, during which the winner of the men's draw received £47,500 more than her. It was not until 2008, again on the London grass, that she would finally receive an equivalent bonus. "Tennis reflects the inequalities in society. We must fight them everywhere," she wrote at the time.
On this occasion, she also wanted to remind: " Sexism is no more a women's problem than racism is a problem only for Black people. Nothing will be possible without the involvement of men." The athlete, who grew up in the poor city of Compton, near Los Angeles, also actively supports educational programs for teenage girls from disadvantaged neighborhoods. "When women succeed, the family flourishes and the economy too. We all win," she insisted.
In Washington, Venus Williams isn't setting any goals. Above all, she wants to "find the joy of being on the court again" and "respect her own rhythm." "For now, I'm just here, and who knows? Maybe there will be something else. I'm not revealing my cards," she said, enigmatic about what's next in her adventure. An exceptional athlete, activist, and business leader, the American continues to write her story with the same determination.
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