Venus Williams Returns with Doubles Victory in Washington as Raducanu, Evans, and Norrie Impress

Posted : 22 July 2025

Tennis legend Venus Williams made a winning comeback after a 16-month absence, securing a place in the last 16 of the women’s doubles at the Washington Open. The 45-year-old, playing her first match since the 2024 Miami Open, teamed up with fellow American Hailey Baptiste to defeat Eugenie Bouchard and Clervie Ngounoue 6–3, 6–1. The former world No. 1 last celebrated a win in August 2023 at the Cincinnati Open and was playing doubles for the first time in three years.

Speaking after the match, Williams expressed her joy at being back on court, saying, “It was inspiring to be out here. I love this game and still hitting it big.” She also playfully remarked that she might have been better off partnering with Baptiste over her iconic sister Serena, with whom she previously won 14 Grand Slam doubles titles.

Venus is also scheduled to play in the singles draw, facing Peyton Stearns in the opening round on Tuesday.

Elsewhere in Washington, Emma Raducanu and Elena Rybakina rallied from a slow start to win their doubles match against the fourth-seeded pair Tereza Mihalikova and Olivia Nicholls. After dropping the first set and falling behind early, the British-Kazakh duo fought back to claim a 2–6, 7–6 (7–4), 11–9 victory on their debut playing together.

In the men’s draw, British players Dan Evans and Cameron Norrie advanced to the second round. Evans came from a set down to beat Belgian Zizou Bergs 3–6, 6–4, 6–3, while Norrie overcame British compatriot Billy Harris 6–3, 7–6 (7–4). Evans, who won the ATP 500 title in Washington two years ago, was awarded a wildcard for this year’s tournament. He acknowledged the support with a gritty win, saying, “I didn’t just want to take the wildcard and lose. I felt I needed to pay them back a bit.”

However, British No. 1 Katie Boulter exited in the first round, losing 6–3, 6–4 to Maria Sakkari in her first match since Wimbledon.

Meanwhile, world No. 2 Carlos Alcaraz has withdrawn from the ATP Canadian Open in Toronto. The Spaniard, who lost to Jannik Sinner in the Wimbledon final, stated that he needs more time to recover. “It comes just too soon for me,” Alcaraz explained, expressing disappointment at missing one of his favorite tournaments.

Tournament director Karl Hale expressed regret at the absence of the five-time Grand Slam winner but remained optimistic about his future appearances. American Sebastian Korda and Poland’s Hubert Hurkacz also withdrew due to injury concerns.

In other news, Olympic champion Zheng Qinwen has officially pulled out of the US Open following surgery on her right elbow. The world No. 6 said she had been experiencing ongoing pain that impacted her training and competition. After trying multiple treatments, she opted for arthroscopic surgery and is now focused on recovery. Zheng, who won gold in Paris and was runner-up at the Australian Open earlier this year, had a disappointing Wimbledon, exiting in the first round. Her withdrawal opens up a main-draw spot for France’s Leolia Jeanjean at the US Open, which starts August 24 in New York.

Venus Williams Returns with Doubles Victory in Washington as Raducanu, Evans, and Norrie Impress

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