by After 16 months, Venus Williams returned to Washington in Washington with a double victory.
The 45-year-old seven-time Grand Slam tournament winner accepted a wildcard this week to take part in the Mubadala Citi DC Open.
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For Eugenie Bouchard and Clervie Ngounoue, she and the American baptists were too strong when she triumphed 6: 3 6: 1 in a last encounter.
Your comeback will continue when you start another American in Peyton Stearns in the first round of the singles. Williams’ first appearances in a WTA tour event since March 2024.
“It was great to get out of here and see the energy,” said Williams after the game about Sky Sports. “When we went to the square, we knew that this would be a match.
“Our opponents actually played very well. It wasn’t easy for us, but we quickly brought it together as a team. It was inspiring to be out here. I love this game and still beat big.”
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Williams joked that she would have had baptiste, the 23-year-old world number 50, instead of playing with her sister Serena.
She said: “I think from the first point I could see that we would be a good team. We just had earlier, years ago, or years ago? I think Serena was just in the way!”
Emma Raducanu had a rare double in Washington (Adam Davy/Pa)
Great Britain Emma Raducanu, together with the former Wimbledon champion Elena Rybakina, achieved a striking victory in her double debut.
The duo fought together for the first time and defended itself from an early deficit against the fourth seeds Tereza Mihalikova and the British Olivia Nicholls 2-6 7-6 (4) 11-9 in a decisive tie break set.
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It was a remarkable victory for Raducanu and Rybakina against opponents who triumphed open at the Berlin last month and also reached the final in Indian Wells at the beginning of this year.
Previously, the former men -singles champion Dan Evans had a triumphal return to the tournament when he came from behind to defeat Zizou Berg.
Evans, the experienced former British number one, triumphed in 2023, decided not to defend his title last year when he focused on the Olympic Games.
The 35-year-old received a wildcard to take part this time and used the advantage when he overcame a slow start to beat the Belgian mountain, the world number 52, 3-6 6-4 6-3.
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Bergs seemed to have opposed the fightback when he came back in the last set with a break, but Evans made back to secure victory by winning four consecutive games.
“I not only wanted to take the wildcard and lose,” said Evans about Sky Sports. “I had the feeling that I had to pay them back a bit and try to” defend “my title because I couldn’t.
“It was great, really enjoyed it, but it was difficult. There was not much rhythm. He played very well and I was lucky enough to get through it.”
