Venus Williams wins her first singles match since 2021

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CNN
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Venus Williams received her first tour-level singles match in a 12 months and a half on Monday, defeating fellow American Katie Volynets 7-6(4) 6-2 within the opening spherical of the ASB Traditional in Auckland, New Zealand.

The 42-year-old Williams, who received the ASB Traditional in 2015 and gained a wild card entry for this 12 months’s event, got here again from a break down within the first set in opposition to Volynets to arrange a gathering with China’s Lin Zhu within the subsequent spherical.

In an in depth first set, Volynets was serving to take an early lead within the match at 5-4, however Williams hit again by breaking her opponent to like earlier than occurring to take the tie break.

She then raced right into a 5-0 lead within the second set and had the match wrapped up three video games later – her first singles victory since defeating Romania’s Mihaela Buzărnescu at Wimbledon in 2021.

“This is one of my favorite places to come, I was so excited that I made it here … I’m happy to get a win today against a great opponent,” Williams, a former world No. 1 and seven-time grand slam champion, mentioned in her on-court interview.

Final month, it was introduced that Williams, who made her skilled debut again in 1994, had acquired a wild card for the primary draw of the upcoming Australian Open, which begins on January 16.