Venus Williams, who hasn't played tennis for over a year, lost to Spanish player Jessica Bouzas Maneiro 6-4, 6-4 in the Cincinnati Open's opening round last month.
“Just coming back, not everything's going to be perfect,” Williams said. “From DC, I took a lot of things physically. I played four matches in four days. So in that last week, I really worked on the physical side. And, so after this match, I felt great and that's a plus.”
Next up for the seven-time Grand Slam singles champion is the US Open, where she received a wild-card entry with Reilly Opelka to play mixed doubles beginning Aug 19. Together with her sister Serena, Williams has won 14 Grand Slam doubles championships. She has also won two more in mixed doubles.
Last week in Montreal, Bouzas Maneiro, ranked 51st, advanced to her first WTA 1000 quarterfinal match. Maneiro was not born when Williams won her first four Grand Slam titles. They had never met before. “She's a legend,” Bouzas Maneiro said. “This was a privilege. I tried to do my best on court and enjoy every moment. It's an honor to play against her. She's an inspiration for young players.” With the crowd on her side, Williams pushed the 22-year-old Spaniard but struggled with her service game.
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“She played super well,” Williams said. “She's got a great future ahead of her, clearly. I was just trying to figure things out as quickly as I could and I just ran out of time. Walking into this match, I felt good.” Williams, who is one year removed from uterine surgery, became the oldest woman to win a WTA match in more than two decades when she defeated Peyton Stearns last month at the DC Open. It was her first tournament in 16 months and her first win since the 2023 Cincinnati Open.
Williams was attending the Cincinnati Open for the eleventh time, having advanced to the quarterfinals in 2019 and the semifinals in 2012. She has held the top spot for 11 weeks. “I had so much fun out there,” Williams said. “There were moments where I had a lot of chances and there were moments where I was working through the kinks. But there was never a moment where I didn't go for it.”
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