Coco Gauff Has One Word for Venus Williams After Historic Accomplishment at DC Open

Originally posted on Athlon Sports | By Dibyendu Mondal | Last updated Jul 23, 2025 8:10 AM ET

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.

In doing so, Williams became the second‑oldest woman ever to win a tour‑level singles match, behind only Martina Navratilova’s 2004 Wimbledon triumph at age 47.

It was her first singles victory in nearly two years and her return to competitive play following surgery for uterine fibroids. Throughout the match, Williams displayed incredible athleticism, serving upwards of 112 mph and composure, entertaining a D.C. crowd that was eager to witness her comeback.

Congratulating on that historic moment, rising American star Coco Gauff took to X after and offered a simple but heartfelt salute: “venus ”

Williams revealed that she was in a very struggling headspace leading up to the tournament.

“Each week that I was training, I was, like, ‘Oh, my God, I don’t know if I’m good enough yet,’ ” she told ESPN. “And then there would be weeks where I would leap forward… Even the week leading up, [I thought], ‘Oh, my gosh, I need to improve so much more.’ So it’s all a head game”.

Age is just a number pic.twitter.com/97z3JRaHxe
— ITF (@ITFTennis) July 23, 2025

"I'm just constantly praying for good health, so that way I could have an opportunity to play with good health," Williams added. "A lot of this for me is being able to come back and try to play at a level [and] to play healthy."

This article first appeared on Athlon Sports and was syndicated with permission.

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