Venus Williams Becomes 2nd Oldest Woman to Win WTA Game

Early Wednesday, Venus Williams reached a new milestone in her career after being the second oldest female tennis player to win a WTA game. 

The seven-time Grand Slam champion said after the game, “I had to come back because they informed me earlier this year I’m on COBRA.” s

She defeated world No. 35 Peyton Stearns 6-3, 6-4 at the Mubadala Citi DC Open. 

“So I was like, ‘I gotta get my benefits!’ You guys know what it’s like. I’m always at the doctor so I need this insurance.”

Williams entered this tournament as a wild card and she didn't play on the WTA Tour since March 2024.

She didn't win any official match in 709 days.

Williams admits that she never officially retired. She never closed the door. In her last few years on tour, the results weren’t good. Injuries piled up, as they tend to do for athletes who approach their 40s.

“There were so many times I wanted to coast and kind of chill,” Williams said. “Do you know how hard it is to play tennis? You don’t know how much work goes into this. It’s 9-to-5 except you’re running the whole time and then lifting weights and then you’re repeating it the next day.”

Williams is not the oldest women’s player to win a match on the WTA Tour. That would be Martina Navratilova winning a first-round match at Wimbledon in 2004.