Three hours 12 minutes later, Leylah Fernandez, glistening with sweat from the marathon she had survived, could finally throw her arms in the air. She had been pushed to the brink and somehow returned from it.

Despite having to cut her historic return to WTA tournaments short, Venus Williams remained positive about her run.

Venus Williams became the oldest woman to win a WTA tour-level singles match in 21 years on Tuesday, when she defeated 35th-ranked Peyton Stearns, 6-3, 6-4 in the first round of the Mubadala Citi DC Open on Tuesday evening.

The qualifying rounds are over and the main draw is set at this week's Mubadala Citi DC Open. Held at the William H.G. Fitzgerald Tennis Center in Rock Creek Park, the annual tournament features ATP and WTA pros and kicks off the North American hardcourt season,

After defying the adage of age in the DC Open, Venus Williams was eliminated in the second round of the doubles tournament

Venus Williams' inspiring run at the 2025 Citi DC Open ended Thursday. The legendary tennis player lost to No. 5 seed Magdalena Frech in straight sets, 6-2, 6-2, in the round of 16. Frech will face No. 3 seed Elena Rybakina after defeating Williams in their first career head-to-head matchup.

Top seed Taylor Fritz romped into the last 16 at the ATP/WTA DC Open on Wednesday as Russian eighth seed Daniil Medvedev overcame an early scare to advance to the third round.

US top seed Taylor Fritz dropped an early Saturday morning marathon to Spain's Alejandro Davidovich-Fokina while Britain's Emma Raducanu and Canada's Leylah Fernandez reached the semi-finals of the ATP and WTA DC Open.