WASHINGTON — Venus Williams is again on the tennis scene, able to compete for the primary time in additional than a yr, and whereas she smiled or laughed steadily Sunday whereas discussing her return on the DC Open, there was one thing that might make her even happier: if her youthful sister Serena have been alongside for the experience.
“I maintain saying to my group: The one factor that might make this higher is that if she was right here. Like, we all the time did the whole lot collectively, so in fact I miss her,” Venus stated when requested a few current video on social media that confirmed Serena swinging a racket. “But when she comes again, I am positive she’ll let y’all know.”
That, in fact, was stated with a large grin. Serena, 43, hasn’t performed for the reason that 2022 US Open, when she declared she was “evolving” away from the game she dominated for stretches on the way in which to 23 Grand Slam singles titles and an extra 14 in doubles with Venus.
“I do not know what she’s going to do. I do not ask these questions,” Venus stated a day earlier than the hard-court match within the nation’s capital begins. “I feel we all the time hit the ball, as a result of that is who we’re. We’re all the time hitting.”
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She stated it was throughout a current observe session of hers that Serena confirmed up and joined in for about 15 or 20 minutes.
“She will be able to take six months off and she or he clocks it clear,” Venus stated. “You possibly can’t educate that form of expertise. She’s simply so good.”
They each have been the very best round at one level.
Each reached No. 1 within the rankings. Venus, who turned 45 final month, gained seven main singles championships, two on the US Open and 5 at Wimbledon.
Her final match was in March 2024 on the Miami Open, the place she exited within the first spherical. It has been so lengthy that the official WTA Tour web site lists her as “inactive.”
“That is very particular for me to come back again and play tennis,” Venus stated. “I feel it is a shock for the followers — and a shock on the whole, as I maintain my playing cards tight.”
It positive was.
It got here as a little bit of a shock to the tennis world when her look in Washington by way of a wild-card invitation was introduced every week in the past.
Her group had reached out to DC Open chairman Mark Ein by way of textual content in April to gauge whether or not he’d be open to having Venus at an occasion she final entered in 2022. He stated he wanted two seconds to answer: “In fact.”
“She’s such an icon of the game — and, importantly, each on and off the courtroom,” Ein stated in an interview. “So anytime you possibly can have her engaged and have the highlight on her and the whole lot she’s finished and continues to do, it is massively optimistic.”
What did she miss probably the most whereas away from the tour?
“All of the occasions that I had and, in fact, the adrenaline, all these issues,” Venus stated. “Simply the pure enjoyable of enjoying the sport, the enjoyable of the problem, overcoming — once you play, you overcome so many challenges: your opponents, the circumstances, a number of occasions you need to overcome your self. These issues are very thrilling.”
When requested why she’s getting again on courtroom, Venus supplied a easy response: “Why not?”
As for whether or not it is a one-stop tour or she plans to play elsewhere, she wasn’t ready to say a lot.
“I am simply right here for now, and who is aware of?” Venus stated. “Possibly there’s extra. … However in the meanwhile, I am targeted simply on this. I have never performed in a yr. There is no such thing as a doubt I can play tennis, however clearly coming again to play matches, it takes time to get within the swing of issues. I positively really feel I am going to play effectively. I am nonetheless the identical participant. I am a giant hitter. I hit massive. That is my model.”
