Venus Williams’ comeback to the WTA Tour will apparently continue.
After defeating world No. 35 Peyton Stearns on Tuesday, July 22 in Washington, D.C., her first official match win in 709 days, the 45-year-old star was granted a wild-card entry into the Cincinnati Open next month.
Cincinnati is the last big hardcourt tune-up prior to the US Open, the event where Williams won two of her seven Grand Slam titles in 2000 and 2001. It’s unclear whether Williams intends to request a US Open wild card, but the burst of attention following her 6-3, 6-4 victory over Stearns suggests the USTA would likely grant one if she wants a spot in the field.
Williams has not been a full-time tour player since 2019. She has battled numerous injuries and the realities of age during her infrequent attempts to play. Since the start of 2022, she played a total of 16 matches before Tuesday, winning just three.
Unlike her younger sister Serena, Venus Williams never officially retired and has been cagey about her intentions, even after her surprise entry in Washington. She revealed after beating Stearns that her fiancée, Italian actor Andrea Preti, had encouraged her to keep playing.
Whether Williams plans to play a more robust schedule going forward or simply a handful of tournaments is unknown, perhaps even to her. Given the way she played in recent years and the accumulated rust of having no matches under her belt, it was fair to wonder if she’d even be competitive against Stearns, who won the NCAA championship at Texas in 2022.
But Williams played remarkably well given the circumstances, relying on her big serve and playing offense with her forehand to overwhelm Stearns, who tends to be more of a counterpuncher.
Williams returns to the singles court Thursday, July 24 for a second-round match in Washington against No. 24 Magdalena Frech.
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