Coco Gauff Has One Word for Venus Williams After Historic Accomplishment at DC Open originally appeared on Athlon Sports. Venus Williams, aged 45, stunned tennis fans on Tuesday at the Mubadala Citi DC Open in Washington by defeating 23‑year‑old Peyton Stearns 6‑3, 6‑4 in the opening round.

Williams’s recent match was the first one she has played this year. The only woman older than she is now to win a tour-level singles match was Martina Navratilova, whose last triumph came in 2004 at age 47. Williams was once the No. 1 ranked women’s payer in the world and has made $42.6 million playing professional tennis.

WASHINGTON — Venus Williams took the Mubadala Citi DC Open by storm.

The comments by the tennis great draw attention to the broader crisis of health care affordability and medical debt.

The seven-time Grand Slam singles champion had not played a WTA Tour match since March of 2024 and had not won one since 2023.

Venus Williams became the oldest player since Martina Navratilova to win a tour-level singles match at the Citi Open in Washington. The 45-year-old defeated fellow American Peyton Stearns 6-3 6-4 for her first singles victory since August 2023.

The 45-year-old, who lost in the second round Thursday at the DC Open in her return to tennis, has never looked happier after a loss.

There are plenty of reasons why this particular victory by Venus Williams in this particular tennis match -- just one of hundreds -- resonated with so many folks. That she’s 45, for one thing. Only one woman,