Venus Williams wins on tour at the age of 45 in front of packed Citi Open crowd

31 years ago Venus Williams made her WTA tour debut at just 14. The senior Williams sister is 45 years old now and is showing no signs of having lost ability on the court. Venus is currently taking part in the Washington Open singles and doubles draw.

After her win in the doubles draw, fans were intrigued about her form on the singles court and whether she can still run down balls. She certainly did so as she came through her first singles match victory since 2023 beating #34 Peyton Stearns 6-3 6-4.

Venus shows she still has it

Venus showed hardly any signs of rust as she was clearly striking the ball in the first set. She took a crucial break at 4-3 to then eventually win the set 6-3. The pro showed no signs of slowing down as she continued the aggressive tennis in the second set as well as she pushed her opponent to all parts. Another crucial break and this time Venus had to serve it out at 5-4.

She did have some final point problems as it was a deuce-advantage duel before Venus finally wrapped up the match 6-3 6-4. This win marked her 819th tour level win. The American sent down 9 thundering aces and most importantly on crucial points. She also made sure her return game was up to the mark as she converted 6 out of the 14 opportunities she created.

Venus also showed the world the ability she has to pull crowds through her sheer aura on the court. Tennis stadiums would be relatively empty for first round matches of a 500 point event. However, to get a glimpse of the American legend, the stadium was flooded with fans who happily got their desired result.

Venus is the oldest woman to win a singles match on tour since Martina Navritalova at Wimbledon over 20 years ago.

Venus will next face 5th seed Magdalena Frech in the second round and it will test her stamina and the level of her game.

Before that she will have her doubles contest against second seed Taylor Townsend and Zhang Shuai. There is absolutely no doubt that both these matches will have packed stadiums as fans are eager to see their favorite rack up some more wins. Williams is playing doubles with Hailey Baptiste at the Citi Open. Baptiste lost in singles to Sofia Kenin this tournament.