Venus Williams makes a winning return to action at the age of 45

Venus Williams made a winning return to action after 16 months out with doubles victory alongside Hailey Baptiste in Washington on Monday.

The 45-year-old seven-time grand slam tournament winner accepted a wildcard to compete in the Mubadala Citi DC Open this week.

She and fellow American Baptiste proved too strong for Eugenie Bouchard and Clervie Ngounoue as they triumphed 6-3 6-1 in a last-16 encounter that lasted 72 minutes.

Her comeback will continue as she takes on another American in Peyton Stearns in the first round of the singles. It is Williams’ first appearances in a WTA Tour event since March 2024.

“It was great to come out here and see the energy,” Williams said on Sky Sports after the match. “As we were walking out to the court, we knew this was going to be a match.

“Our opponents actually played very well. It wasn’t easy for us but we brought it together quickly as a team. It was inspiring to be out here. I love this game and still hitting it big.”

Williams joked she wished she could have partnered with Baptiste, the 23-year-old world number 50, years earlier rather than playing with her sister Serena.

She said: “I think from the first point, I could see that we were going to be a good team. We just should have started playing earlier, years ago, right? I think Serena was just in the way!”

Britain’s Emma Raducanu scored an eye-catching win on her doubles debut alongside former Wimbledon champion Elena Rybakina.

Competing together for the first time, the duo fought back from an early deficit to beat fourth seeds Tereza Mihalikova and Britain’s Olivia Nicholls 2-6 7-6 (4) 11-9 in a decisive tie-break set.

It was a notable win for Raducanu and Rybakina against opponents who triumphed at the Berlin Open last