SportsLine tennis expert Blake Von Hagen reveals his 2025 Mubadala Citi DC Open picks for Tuesday's women's first-round match between Peyton Stearns and Venus Williams

Venus Williams Personal Announcement After WTA Win originally appeared on Athlon Sports. Sometimes, the scoreboard doesn’t tell the whole story. On Tuesday in D.C., it wasn’t just a win that made Venus Williams happy—it was something, or someone, much bigger.

The only older woman to win a tour-level singles match was Martina Navratilova, whose last triumph came at 47 in 2004.

The seven-time Grand Slam singles champion had not played a WTA Tour match since March of 2024 and had not won one since 2023.

Venus Williams just came back from a 16-month break from professional tennis. But she didn’t return because she missed playing — rather, she missed her health insurance. “I had to come back for the insurance,” Williams, 45, said this week after beating Peyton Stearns — 22 years her junior — at the Mubadala Citi DC Open in Washington, D.C.

Champion tennis player Venus Williams says she’s coming out of retirement because she needs health insurance, but industry experts say her example shows how little Americans understand their health care options.

Williams, however, can get insurance through the Women’s Tennis Association, the body regulating the women’s tour. Venus Williams has for years battled uterine fibroids, a condition that requires ongoing medical care and monitoring.

Williams, one of the all-time great tennis players, participated in the DC Open for her first professional match in over a year, and the 45-year-old wasn't just there to play, she was there to compete. Williams defeated world No. 35 Peyton Stearns for her first win since August 2023.