45-year-old American tennis player Venus Williams made a successful start at the WTA 500 tournament in Washington, beating her compatriot Peyton Stearns in the first round with a score of 6:3, 6:4.

It was the seven-time Grand Slam champion's first win since March 2024. Williams received a wild card to the tournament. Stearns, 23, is ranked 35th in the WTA.

Venus Williams became the oldest player to win a professional singles match since 2004, when 47-year-old Czech Martina Navratilova defeated Colombia's Catalina Castano at Wimbledon.

During her career, which began in 1994, Williams won 71 WTA tournaments and four Olympic gold medals.