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<\/a><\/p>\nShe hadn\u2019t won in singles since August 2023 in Cincinnati.<\/p>\n
Until this week, she was listed by the WTA Tour as \u201cinactive\u201d.<\/p>\n
\u201cIt is not easy to (come back) after all that time and play the perfect match,\u201d Williams said.<\/p>\n
But backed by a crowd that clearly was there to see, and support, her at the hard-court tournament in Washington, Williams showed glimpses of the talent she possesses and the skills she displayed while earning all of her Grand Slam titles: seven in singles, 14 in women\u2019s doubles \u2014 all alongside younger sister Serena \u2014 and two in mixed doubles.<\/p>\n
\u201cI wanted to play a good match,\u201d she told the fans, then added a phrase that drew appreciative roars: \u201cAnd win the match.\u201d<\/p>\n
In Tuesday\u2019s second game, for example, Williams smacked a return winner to get things started, then delivered a couple of other big responses to break Stearns, a 23-year-old who won singles and team NCAA titles at the University of Texas and is currently ranked 35th in the world.<\/p>\n
In the next game, Williams sprinted forward to reach a drop shot and replied with a winner. Soon, she led 4-2, then was closing that set.<\/p>\n
She was accompanied by choruses of cheers. The first arrived when Williams walked out into the main stadium at the DC Open, a 7000-seat arena that\u2019s more than twice as large as where she was for her doubles victory a day earlier.<\/p>\n
Another came when she strode from the sideline to the center of the court for the formality of the coin toss. The noise really reached a crescendo when Williams began hitting aces \u2014 at 170km\/h and faster \u2014 the way she used to.<\/p>\n
There also were moments where Williams \u2014 who said her fianc\u00e9 was in the stands \u2014 looked as if it had been just as long as it actually has since she competed, including in the opening game, when she got broken at love this way: forehand wide, forehand into the net, forehand long, backhand long.<\/p>\n
At the end, it took Williams a bit of extra effort to close things out. She kept holding match points and kept failing to convert them. But eventually, on her sixth chance, Williams powered in a 180km\/h serve that Stearns returned into the net.<\/p>\n
That was it: Williams smiled wide as can be, raised a fist and jogged to the net to shake hands, then performed her customary post-win pirouette-and-wave.<\/p>\n
She advanced to a second-round match-up against No.5 seed Magdalena Frech, a 27-year-old from Poland.<\/p>\n
In other action, Emma Raducanu handed No.7 seed Marta Kostyuk a sixth consecutive loss by eliminating her 7-6 (7-4) 6-4.<\/p>\n
That set up a second-round meeting between Raducanu and four-time major champion Naomi Osaka, who was a 6-2 7-5 winner against Yulia Putintseva.<\/p>\n
Two top men\u2019s seeds exited: Cam Norrie beat No. 2 Lorenzo Musetti 3-6 6-2 6-3, and No.3 Holger Rune withdrew from the tournament because of a back injury. No. 4 seed Ben Shelton defeated Mackie McDonald 6-3 6-4.<\/p>\n
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