Venus Williams wins her first match since Wimbledon 2021
Venus Williams is back, beating compatriot Katie Volynets in Auckland
Imago/Panoramic
At 42 years old, and 29 years after her first professional match, Venus Williams remains competitive. That’s the message she just sent to the other players on the WTA Tour by beating Katie Volnyets, ranked 114th in the world, 7-6 (4), 6-2.
This is the American’s first singles victory since her first-round win over Mihaela Buzarnescu at Wimbledon 2021.
The former world No 1 received a wild card to compete in Auckland to prepare for her 22nd Australian Open.
She paid the favour back in style as she dominated a player who had progressed through qualification.
Williams was down a break at 5-4 but she came back to take the first set before flying to a deserved victory, with 10 break points in this match against only two for her opponent.
Venus Williams – no successive wins since 2019
Venus, older sister of the retired Serena, had played only four singles tournaments in 2022, all resulting in first-round losses, with only one set won. Before today, she had only won one of her last 13 matches.
She will try to win two matches in a row for the first time since Cincinnati in 2019 when she takes on China’s Lin Zhu, ranked 84th in the WTA rankings, in the second round.
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