WASHINGTON: There are plenty of reasons why this particular victory by Venus Williams in this particular tennis match — just one of hundreds — resonated with so many folks.
That she’s 45, for one thing. Only one woman, Martina Navratilova, ever has won a tour-level singles match while older; her last victory came at 47 in 2004.
That Williams hadn’t entered a tournament anywhere in 16 months.
That she needed surgery for uterine fibroids.
And when asked Tuesday night after beating her 23-year-old opponent, Peyton Stearns, 6-3, 6-4 at the DC Open what message others might take away from that performance and that result, Williams was quick to provide an answer.
“There are no limits for excellence.
It’s all about what’s in your head and how much you’re able to put into it. If you put in the work mentally, physically, and emotionally, then you can have the result,” she said.
“It doesn’t matter how many times you fall down. Doesn’t matter how many times you get sick or get hurt or whatever it is.
If you continue to believe and put in the work, there is an opportunity, there is space, for you.”
Williams has been winning at tennis for decades. Her pro debut came when she was 14.
Her first Grand Slam title came at Wimbledon in 2000, less than a month after her 20th birthday.
She accumulated four major singles trophies before Stearns was born and eventually wound up with seven, five at Wimbledon and two at the US Open, plus another 14 in women’s doubles — all with her sister Serena — and two in mixed doubles.
“I have so much respect for her to come back here and play, win or lose. That takes a lot of guts to step back onto court, especially with what she’s done for the sport,” said Stearns, who is ranked 35th and won NCAA singles
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