WASHINGTON (AP) — Competing at a tournament for the first time in more than a year, and in doubles for the first time in nearly three, Venus Williams hit a big serve on her initial delivery at the DC Open on Monday and, curiously, it was wiped out by a footfault call. The 45-year-old Williams, an owner of 21 Grand Slam titles across singles and doubles, smiled incredulously, as did the other three players involved in the match in front of a full crowd that eventually included NBA star Kevin Durant. And then Williams carried on, displaying her trademark power on some strokes while teaming with Hailey Baptiste for a 6-3, 6-1 victory against 2014 Wimbledon runner-up Eugenie Bouchard and Clervie Ngounoue.

“It’s just nice to be able to play. Where I am at this year is so much different where I was at last year. It’s night and day, being able to be here and prepare for the tournament as opposed to preparing for surgery a year ago,” said Williams, who spoke in an interview with NBC earlier this month about having a procedure to remove fibroids from her uterus. “At the end of the day, it doesn’t really matter if your health is not there. So it definitely put it in perspective for me and maybe made it easier to make the decision to maybe come back out here and maybe play even freer.”

Her most recent match had been at the Miami Open in March 2024, and she said Sunday she had two goals in Washington: to have fun and to win.

She did both — winning, yes, and contributing plenty to the cause, but also having a good time, high-fiving or fist-bumping Baptiste after some of their best points, laughing after others and waving to an appreciative group of fans that roared over and over for Williams. She and Baptiste hugged when it ended.

“The crowd was insane. From the moment we stepped out of the players area, you could kind of feel the buzz. Walking onto the court, just felt all the love for the both of us,” said Baptiste, a 23-year-old from Washington. “I was obviously very nervous to play with her. I didn’t want to let her down, first match back and everything.”

Williams Won Her Singles Match Venus Williams made a triumphant return to singles action at the Mubadala Citi DC Open on Tuesday, stunning Peyton Stearns, 6-3, 6-4 to win her first match in almost two years.

“I’m just trying to figure out how many wins will it take before I’m off COBRA,” Williams joked after the match. “I haven’t asked the WTA yet, but I gotta just keep winning until finally my insurance kicks back in, so...”

The 45-year-old former world No. 1, who becomes the oldest woman to win a WTA match since Martina Navratilova in 2004, had been off the court since March 2024 and hadn’t won a match since the 2023 Cincinnati Open (d. Veroni-ka Kudermetova). But after a winning doubles effort with fellow American Hailey Baptiste on Monday, Williams showed she could still own Stadium Court all on her own, winning in one hour and 37 minutes.

“Going into the match, I know I have the ability to win, but it’s all about actually winning. So, this is the best result, to play a good match and win. I’m here with my friends, family, people I love, and the fans, too, who I love, and they love me, so this has been just a beautiful night.”

Williams got back into her groove of things in her singles match.

“I haven’t played in a year. There is no doubt I can play tennis, but obviously coming back to play matches, it takes time to get in the swing of things. I definitely feel I’ll play well. I’m still the same player. I’m a big hitter. I hit big. This is my brand.”

That brand was on display in the doubles, and Williams quickly turned back the clock in singles, as well, recovering from an early break against Stearns, a 23-year-old who earned a career-high ranking of No. 28 earlier this spring.

Stearns played tight tennis as Williams soared, serving out the opening set and rallying from a 1-3 deficit to take a 5-3 lead in the second A missed return on match point kept Stearns in the game but Williams continued to force the issue, shaking off a second missed match point and out-foxing her younger opponent with a deftly struck lob. As the game ticked past the 10-minute mark, the elder Williams sister narrowly missed third and fourth match points and Stearns held on to force her illustrious opponent to serve for the match.

Williams missed out on a fifth match point due to a double fault but earned a sixth after saving a break point. Finally, over the finish line, Williams let loose her signature twirl, delighting the DC crowd.

Up next for the seven- time Grand Slam champion will be No. 5 seed Magdalena Freçh, who defeated Ukrainian qualifier Yuliia Starodubtseva in straight sets to win her first round.