‘Grateful’ Venus Williams reacts to receiving Cincinnati Open wildcard after losing in Washington
Venus Williams says that she is ‘grateful’ for her Washington run and is looking forward to an ‘amazing’ Cincinnati Open, after being handed a wildcard by the tournament.
The positive words come after she fell to fifth-seed Magdalena Frech 6-2, 6-2 in the second round of the WTA 500 event.
Earlier in the week, the seven-time Grand Slam champion made global headlines after triumphing over fellow countrywoman Peyton Stearns 6-3, 6-4.
In doing so, the 45-year-old veteran became the second-oldest woman to win a singles match on the WTA Tour since Martina Navratilova 2004, with the Czech-American having been 47 at the time.
“I’m so grateful,” began Williams, during her post-loss press conference.
“I feel like I ran out of gas today, unfortunately. I tried to find the energy, and I didn’t find it. But, you know, four matches in the first week is a lot. You know, I love playing doubles.
“One of the reasons you don’t play is usually you’re just trying to save your energy, and plus it’s hot. When you’re doing the training and the warmup, you’re spending an extra hour sweating it out.
“I’m really grateful. I think without that doubles match, I don’t know if I could have played as well in the singles.
“So I think everything served its purpose this week. I’m sorry to have fallen short, but I know I can play better and I know I will play better.
“Congratulations to Magda today. I hope we get another chance to play this summer so I can play a little better next time.”
Williams’ admission that she ‘ran out of gas’ is not a surprising one, given that she had not played a singles match since March 2024 and was not a victor in any clash since August 2023.
In addition to the singles run, the American also competed in the women’s doubles category in Washington – teaming up with Hailey Baptiste.
The pair were victorious in their opening match, beating Eugenie Bouchard and Clervie Ngounoue 6-3, 6-4, before losing out to Zhang Shuai and Taylor Townsend 6-4, 3-6, 10-6.
“I never got out of shape, so you’d have to talk to someone who let themself go,” joked Williams.
“That’s not my thing. I stayed in shape. Even if I wasn’t playing tennis, I was always in the gym.
“So I think the only difference now is I think I’m just tighter, but I have always been a very tight individual anyway, so my muscles are even tighter, which maybe is good or maybe is bad.
“But physically, I feel pretty much the same, like I don’t have major injuries that are like killing me or anything like that. When you play on tour, something comes up, trust me.
“You have no idea what goes on for players to get out on the court. Something happens. You’re trying to fix things.
“That part is normal, but I don’t have, like, chronic this or chronic that or this is a disaster, I’m holding it together with staples and paper clips.
“I don’t have any of that with my body. It’s a blessing, knock on wood.”
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Williams won’t be out of action for too long, having been handed a wildcard for the Cincinnati Open.
The American’s best result at the event came in 2012, where she reached the semi-finals before losing to Li Na, 7-5, 3-6, 6-1. She also made the last eight in 2008 and 2019.
“Yeah, the fans there are epic too. It’s going to be amazing. There’s so many learnings to take from here,” Williams responded, when told that she had been given the wildcard by the tournament.
“I know exactly what I need to work on, where I can improve. The good news is I’m always in control of the point. The important part is to put the ball in.
“So this is one thing I didn’t do today. Was I in control? Absolutely. Will I be in control of most of my matches? Most likely, yes. That’s the place I want to be, so I’m putting myself in that position. That’s what counts.”
The Cincinnati Open takes place from August 7 – 18 at the Lindner Family Tennis Center in Mason, Ohio.
