Overview

• Venus Williams defeated Peyton Stearns 6-3, 6-4 on Tuesday to reach the round of 16 at the DC Open, becoming the oldest player to win a WTA singles match since 2004.
• Partnering with Hailey Baptiste, Williams also secured a spot in the doubles quarterfinals after a 6-3, 6-1 first-round victory over Eugenie Bouchard and Clervie Ngounoue.
• Her comeback follows a 16-month hiatus and a mid-2024 procedure to remove uterine fibroids, marking a return to stable health and competitive form.
• Williams said she credited her renewed fitness from surgery for powering her performance on both singles and doubles courts.
• She will face Poland’s Magdalena Fręch in Thursday’s singles round of 16 and take on Taylor Townsend and Zhang Shuai in Wednesday’s doubles quarterfinal.