WASHINGTON -- Venus Williams became the second-oldest woman to win a tour-level singles match in professional tennis, delivering some of her familiar big serves and groundstrokes at age 45 while beating Peyton Stearns -- 22 years her junior -- by a 6-3, 6-4 score at the DC Open on Tuesday night.
This was the first singles victory for Williams in nearly two years. The only older woman to win a match was 47-year-old Martina Navratilova at 2004 Wimbledon.
The former No. 1-ranked Williams had not played singles in an official match anywhere since March 2024 in Miami, missing time while having surgery to remove uterine fibroids.