After returning to a professional tennis court for the first time in 16 months, Venus Williams' short-lived Cinderella run in the Mubadala Citi DC Open has come to an end. The former World No. 1 fell 2-6, 2-6 to Magdalena Freçh in the second round, but she was anything but upset when giving her thoughts during her post-match press conference.
“Oh, I had so much fun,” Williams said optimistically. “Definitely not the result I wanted, but still a learning experience. The part about sport [and] life is that you never stop learning. I got to play a lot of matches here, and that definitely was a plus. The fans in DC are just epic. I couldn't have been happier with my first week back.”
Williams was understandably proud of her performance after a historic solo victory over Peyton Stearns in the first round made her the oldest woman to win a tour-level singles match since 2004. The 45-year-old detailed how she was able to even make an attempt at playing on tennis' biggest stages once again.
“I stayed in shape. Even if I wasn't playing tennis, I was always in the gym. So I think the difference now is I think I'm just tighter, but I have always been a very tight individual anyway, so my muscles are even tighter,” Williams explained. “But physically, I feel pretty much the same, like I don't have major injuries that are like killing me or anything like that.”
However, she went on to say point out that she still has some growing pains when it comes to being match-ready.
“I feel like I ran out of gas today, unfortunately. I tried to find the energy, and I didn't find it.”
Still, Williams is using her humorous nature and positive attitude to propel her forward as she aims to continue her playing career.
“There's so many learnings from here. I know exactly what I need to work on, where I can improve,” Williams concluded. “The good news is I'm always in control of the point. The important part is to put the ball in.”
Venus Williams has already accepted a wild-card invitation to play in next month's Cincinnati Open, which takes place from August 5-18.
