Venus Williams wins her first singles match since 2021

CNN
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Venus Williams won her first tour-level singles match in a year and a half on Monday, beating fellow American Katie Volynets 7-6(4) 6-2 in the first round of the ASB Classic in Auckland, New -Zeeland.

Williams, 42, who won the ASB Classic in 2015 and earned a wild card for this year’s tournament, came back from a breakdown in the first set against Volynets to set up a meeting with China’s Lin Zhu in the next round.

In a tight first set, Volynets served to take an early lead in the match at 5-4, but Williams fought back by breaking his opponent at love before taking the tie-break.

She then took a 5-0 lead in the second set and finished the match three games later – her first singles victory since losing Romania’s Mihaela Buzărnescu at Wimbledon in 2021.

“This is one of my favorite places to come, I was so excited I made it here…I’m happy to get a win today against a great opponent,” said Williams, a former n No. 1 in the world and seven times in Grand Slams. champion, said during her on-court interview.

Last month it was announced that Williams, who made his professional debut in 1994, had received a wild card for the main draw at the upcoming Australian Open, which begins on January 16.