Venus Williams, at 45, marked her return to Grand Slam competition at the US Open against Karolina Muchova, making her the oldest singles player since 1981. Despite early momentum shifts and chants of support,

So perhaps it wasn’t surprising that Williams started slowly. But with her fiance, Andrea Preti, leaping out of his seat after many points, Williams got back into the match, smacking vintage serves at up to 114 mph and finishing with just one fewer winner than Muchova.

The elder Williams was off the tennis tour for 16 months until making a comeback at a tournament in Washington last month, where she won one match each in singles and doubles. She hadn't competed anywhere since the Miami Open in March 2024, and had surgery for uterine fibroids later last year.