Venus Williams: “I Know I Can Play Better, and I Will”

By Chris Oddo | Friday July 25, 2025

Venus Williams, at 45, is still growing her game, and looking forward to more of the same this summer. The seven-time major champion fell in second-round action at the Citi Open to Magdalaena Frech on Thursday in DC, but benefitted from four matches – two singles, two doubles. 

“I know I can play better, and I know I will play better,” she said, speaking like a player who is excited about playing singles at the Cincinnati Open, where she has accepted a wild card and – hopefully – the US Open. 

“I can’t wait to get on the practice court, my coach and I are already talking about what I’m going to work on and also how much better I got so quickly in these last few weeks, it’s kind of like straight up a mountain, we’ve made so much progress and I expect there will be more.” 

Williams, who defeated Peyton Stearns in the first round to become the oldest woman to win a WTA match in 21 years, feels that her game is on the right track despite the fact that she ran out of energy during Thursday’s loss. 

“I know exactly what I need to work on, where I can improve,” she said. “The good news is that I am always in control of the point. The important point is to put the ball in. That’s one thing I didn’t do today but was I in control? Absolutely. Will I be in control of most of my matches? Most likely yes, and that’s the place that I want to be.”

Williams, who also run a round in doubles alongside DC native Hailey Baptiste, who is just about half her age at 23, says she has kept herself in good shape despite not playing for 15 months on tour. 

“Even if I wasn’t playing tennis, I was always in the gym,” she said. 

“Physically I feel pretty much the same, I don’t have major injuries that are killing me,” Williams said. “When you play on tour, something comes up, trust me. You have no idea what goes on for players to get on the court. Something happens, you are trying to fix things, that part is normal.  I don’t have chronic this or chronic that, or this is a disaster, I’m holding it together with staples or paper clips – I don’t have any of that with my body, it’s a blessing, knock on wood.”