500 Mubadala Citi DC Open WTA
Venus Williams Stages Bold Singles Comeback at Age 45 in Washington
Venus Williams, at 45, makes a striking comeback at Washington’s Mubadala Citi DC Open.
Venus Williams returned to professional singles tennis at age 45, making a notable comeback at the Mubadala Citi DC Open in Washington, D.C. This decision stemmed from an unexpected surge of inspiration during a brief visit to Wimbledon earlier this summer, where the ambiance and memories reignited her love for the sport.
Reflecting on her visit, Williams said, “When I went to Wimbledon this year—I was there for a day—and it was so beautiful and exciting, and I remembered all the times that I had, and of course the adrenaline, all those things—just the pure fun of playing the game, the fun of the challenge. You overcome so many challenges [as a player]: your opponents, the conditions, a lot of times you have to overcome yourself.”
Her comeback was approached with both passion and caution. Despite the long hiatus, which included surgery for uterine fibroids, Williams trained intensively and acknowledged the mental hurdles she faced. “Each week that I was training, I was, like, ‘Oh, my God, I don’t know if I’m good enough yet.’” She emphasized the significance of passion in sport: “I think more than anything, it’s just about love, right? If you have enough love for it, then you’ll put in the effort, and then you’ll find that little extra little bit at the end because you love it so much.”
Williams launched her return by winning a doubles match and followed with a straight-sets victory over No. 35-ranked Peyton Stearns, becoming the oldest woman to win a WTA main tour match since Martina Navratilova in 2004. Stearns praised her performance, noting, “Her serves were just on fire.”
However, the physical demands proved challenging in her next match against No. 5 seed Magdalena Frech, where Williams lost 6-2, 6-2. Despite this, Tennis Channel analyst Mark Petchey commented, “The cameo is over. We’ll see her again in Cincinnati,” where Williams has accepted a wildcard entry.
Williams’ return in Washington, a tournament known for its strong African-American community support, holds symbolic significance. “Today we got to see three African-Americans on the court,” Williams remarked, highlighting the importance of representation and opportunity in tennis.
Throughout her career, Williams has been a formidable advocate, notably for equal prize money in women’s tennis, a battle she helped win at Wimbledon in 2007. Her current comeback challenges conventional expectations about age in professional tennis, earning admiration from peers like Naomi Osaka, who referred to her as “the queen” with a “royal air.”
500 ATP BMW Open
Ben Shelton Wins BMW Open and Signals Big Clay Ambitions
Shelton won the 2026 BMW Open, earning €478,935, a BMW iX3, Lederhosen and 500 ATP points. Since 2002
Ben Shelton captured the 2026 BMW Open by Bitpanda, defeating fourth-seeded Flavio Cobolli 6-2, 7-5 in Sunday’s singles final. Playing before packed stands on Center Court at the MTTC Iphitos, Shelton jumped to a 4-0 lead in the opening set and never surrendered his composure.
Cobolli raised his level as the match progressed, but the world No. 6 stood firm, saving all six break points he faced and converting three of nine chances. The match lasted one hour and 30 minutes.
“I came out at a really high level,” said Shelton, who earned his fifth career title and third at ATP 500 level following Tokyo in 2023 and Dallas earlier this year.
“I have done that before against him, but the toughest thing is maintaining it, as he raises his level. I was able to do that in the second set, hanging in there when he played some great tennis, and I came through to win it in straight sets.
“I am happy with my performance this week. I got better and better as the week went on, and I am pleased with the work my team put in here.”
Shelton received a prize cheque of €478,935, a brand-new BMW iX3 and traditional Bavarian Lederhosen. He also collected 500 ATP Ranking points.
“The car is great. It might be difficult to get it back to Florida, where I live,” Shelton said with a smile.
The Atlanta native now holds the biggest clay-court title by an American man since Andre Agassi captured the ATP Masters 1000 in Rome in 2002, the year Shelton was born. He made clear he sees this victory as part of a broader push on the surface.
“It’s huge. I have big ambitions on clay – a surface I want to keep improving on each year. It has become one of my favourite surfaces to play on.
“It’s a short season and some of the Americans choose not to play every event. But we had two guys in the quarterfinals of the French Open last year. Success on clay is coming back. I am looking forward to being part of this progression of U.S. men’s tennis on clay. On the women’s side, they have a lockdown as they won the French last year. We as the men have some more to do but we are heading into the right direction. This is just one step in a long swing and let’s see what happens.”
500 Australian Open Finals
Rybakina secures second Stuttgart title with straight-set win over Muchova
Rybakina claimed her second Stuttgart crown, beating Muchova 7-5, 6-1 to start clay season for Rome
Elena Rybakina captured her second Porsche Tennis Grand Prix trophy, defeating Karolina Muchova 7-5, 6-1 in a one hour and 18 minute final on Center Court. The top seed overcame a spirited comeback in the first set from the No. 7 seed before asserting control in the second.
Rybakina, the reigning 2026 Australian Open champion, is set to return to No. 1 in the Race to the WTA Finals standings after the victory. Since her major triumph in Melbourne, the 26-year-old produced steady results but had not claimed another title, finishing runner-up to the world No. 1 at the BNP Paribas Open and falling in the Miami Open semifinals.
With Aryna Sabalenka absent from the Porsche Tennis Grand Prix because of injury, Rybakina targeted a strong start to her clay-court season and lost just one set across four matches to complete that mission. She advanced through a third-set tiebreaker against Leylah Fernandez in the quarterfinals, handled No. 6 seed Mirra Andreeva after Andreeva had stunned No. 3 seed Iga Swiatek, and then carried momentum into the final.
Against Muchova, Rybakina raced to a 5-2 lead early in the opening set before Muchova fought back to level at 5-5 and saved two set points as she tried to force a tiebreak. Rybakina converted her third set point to close out the first set and then dominated the second, building a 5-0 advantage. Muchova avoided a bagel with a game for 5-1, but Rybakina served out the match to love.
Muchova arrived in Stuttgart off a breakthrough season that included her first WTA 1000 title at the Qatar TotalEnergies Open. She had also snapped losing streaks against Coco Gauff and Elina Svitolina en route to the final, and she was the last woman to beat Rybakina before Rybakina went on to win the Australian Open. On Sunday, however, Rybakina’s form proved decisive as she lifted her second Porsche in three years.
500 ATP Barcelona Open Banc Sabadell
Fils rallies past Rafael Jodar in Barcelona semis to reach 100 career wins
Arthur Fils rallied from a set down to defeat Rafael Jodar in Barcelona semis, his 100th career win.
Arthur Fils overcame a set deficit to defeat Rafael Jodar in the semifinals of the Barcelona Open Banc Sabadell, winning 3-6, 6-3, 6-2. The victory marked multiple milestones in a single match for the 21-year-old Frenchman.
Fils erased the early advantage Jodar established when the Spanish teenager took the first set. He recovered by taking the second set 6-3 and then closed out the match 6-2 in the decider. The win ended Jodar’s eight-match winning streak that began with his first ATP title in Marrakech last week and continued with three more wins in Barcelona.
Jodar had also been riding a run of set dominance, having won 13 sets in a row before Fils rallied to halt that sequence. That combination of recent form and momentum made Fils’ comeback more significant.
Most notably, the win was the 100th tour-level victory of Fils’ career. At 21 years old, he became the first man born in 2004 or later to reach 100 tour-level wins. The result advances Fils to the Barcelona final and leaves Jodar’s surge halted at the semifinal stage.
The match underlined Fils’ capacity to close out big moments against an in-form opponent and provided a notable career landmark in the 2026 season. His progression through an ATP 500 event and the accumulation of 100 tour-level wins underline the trajectory he has followed in recent seasons.
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