Venus Williams makes winning doubles return aged 45

Venus Williams, a seven-time Grand Slam champion, returned from 16 months of tennis to celebrate her victory in the final 16 of the women’s doubles at the Washington Open.

The 45-year-old former world number one, who accepted a wildcard for the tournament, won the Cincinnati Open in August 2023 but had not competed since the Miami Open in March of that year.

Eugenie Bouchard and Clervie Ngounoue were defeated by Williams and fellow American Hailey Baptiste, 6 0 6 1.

Williams told Sky Sports, “It was inspiring being out here.” “I love this game and keep making money.”

In the opening round of the singles competition on Tuesday, she will face another American, Peyton Stearns.

Williams, who was playing doubles for the first time in three years, joked that Serena, her sister, had the 23-time major champion behind her and that she wished she could have teamed up with Baptiste, the world number 50, in a doubles match.

She continued, “I believe I could tell that we were going to be a good team right away.” We simply ought to have started playing sooner, after all, right? Serena, in my opinion, was “just in the way.”

Britain’s Dan Evans and Cameron Norrie advanced to the second round in Washington in the men’s singles.

In the first round, Evans defeated Belgian Zizou Bergs 3-1, 6-4, 6-3, before meeting with American Alex Michelsen.

Meanwhile, Norrie defeated British qualifier Billy Harris 6-3, 7-6 (7-4) in the next round against second-seeded Italian Lorenzo Musetti, who is also seeking a tough challenge.

At the Washington Open, Evans won his first ATP 500 title of his career two years ago, but he made the decision to withdraw from the sport last year as he concentrated on the Paris 2012 Olympic Games.

The 35-year-old former British number one won three sets after being given a wildcard to compete and overcame a slow start against Bergs.

Bergs, who was 52nd overall, won the final set by winning four games in a row after a break, but Evans stayed on top.