45-Year-Old Venus Williams Defeats Peyton Stearns, Becomes Second-Oldest WTA Match Winner
A Vintage Venus Returns in DC
Venus Williams turned back the clock and silenced every doubt on Monday night, defeating Peyton Stearns, 22 years her junior by 6-3, 6-4 in the opening round of the 2025 DC Open. At 45 years old, she became the second-oldest woman in WTA history to win a tour-level singles match, behind only Martina Navratilova, who achieved the feat at 47 in 2004.
This was Venus’ first singles victory in nearly two years, her last win coming in August 2023 in Cincinnati. She had not played singles competitively since March 2024 in Miami, after undergoing surgery for uterine fibroids.
“It’s All a Head Game”
Speaking candidly after the match, Williams admitted the mental battle leading up to her comeback was as demanding as the physical one:
“Each week that I was training, I was like, ‘Oh my God, I don’t know if I’m good enough yet.’ And then there would be weeks where I would leap forward. And there would be two weeks where I was like, ‘Oh God, it’s not happening.’ Even the week leading up, I thought, ‘Oh my gosh, I need to improve so much more.’ So it’s all a head game.”
She also joked about her return being partly motivated by health insurance:
“They told me this year I’m on COBRA, so I figured, I’ve got to get my benefits on.”
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From 1997 to 2025, Still Fighting
Williams, who won four Grand Slam titles before Stearns was born, proved she still has the fight. Though she struggled to close the match, missing five match points, she sealed the deal on her sixth, firing a 112 mph serve that drew an error from Stearns.
“It’s not easy. It won’t be easy. It’s not easy for anyone out here,” Venus said after the match. “So I know I’ll have to fight for every match. But I’m up for that.”
She now advances to face No. 5 seed Magdalena Frech, aged 27, in the next round.
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