Venus Williams ‘up to fight’ after first tennis win in two years

July 23 (UPI) — Venus Williams says she is “up to fight” after winning her first match in two years and becoming the oldest woman to win on the tour level since 2004.

The 45-year-old needed 97 minutes to dispatch of No. 35 Peyton Stearns (23) of the United States 6-3, 6-4 on Tuesday at the DC Open in Washington.

The former world No. 1 — who is currently unranked — edged her foe 9-3 in aces and converted 6 of 14 break point opportunities, compared to Stearns’ 4 of 6 clip.

“I think there were times where I was just trigger-happy,” Williams told reporters. “Going crazy really fast, and I sort of convinced myself to play those points, be patient, slow down.

“I think it was a big win for me. Like I said, it’s not easy. It won’t be easy. It’s not easy for anyone out here. So I know I’ll have to fight for every match, but I’m up for that.”

Williams’ win was her first of the tour-level variety since she beat Russian Veronika Kudermetova on Aug. 14, 2023, at the Cincinnati Open.

“It is not easy to come off after all that time and play the perfect match,” Williams said. “All the players on the WTA are playing amazing. Peyton played so well. I was trying to slow myself down.”

Williams is the oldest woman to win a tour-level match in singles play since Martina Navratilova won at Wimbledon 2004 at 47. Her last match entering Tuesday ocucrred at the 2024 Miami Open. She lost that March 19, 2024, meeting with Diana Shnaider in straight sets.

She missed significant time over the last several years due to multiple injuries. She also underwent surgery last year to remove uterine fibroids before staging her comeback.

“It’s so rewarding to come back after a layoff and injuries and also i didn’t have to come back to play,” Williams said. “I’m back here because of encouragement from my team. They wanted me to come back and play again.”

Williams will take on No. 24 Magdalena Frech (27) of Poland in the Round of 16. The winner will battle No. 12 Elena Rybakina (26) of Kazakhstan or No. 88 Victoria Mboko (18) of Canada in the quarterfinals.