Despite its awkward placement in the tennis schedule, the Washington Open has featured some legends over the years, and this season is no exception.
Eight-time Grand Slam champion Venus Williams made her return to tennis in D.C. this week and took the sports world by storm after winning her first-round clash with Peyton Stearns.
Williams became the second woman since 1990 to clinch a WTA victory aged 45 or over, following her American compatriot, Martina Navratilova.
In seasons gone by, other greats have taken to the courts in the US capital, including Rafael Nadal, whom tournament director Mark Ein recently told an ‘amazing’ story about.
Photo by Mitchell Layton/Getty ImagesMark Ein tells ‘amazing’ story about Rafael Nadal at the Washington Open
On the ‘Nothing Major’ podcast, Ein said: “I will tell you, the thing about Rafa, and he is retired, so I think I can say this now.
“His team actually called and said: ‘He wants to play DC, tell us what is fair, and we will take it. He needs to play’.
“It was in the middle of Covid, so at the time we could only have half the stands full. He said just tell us what’s fair. We gave him a number, and they said great.
“Look, it was a good number, but it was definitely not what he would have gotten if the stands were full, so it was a fair place.
“But it was so successful [the event] after he came that I literally called and just said I am going to give you a meaningful amount more just because I want to keep in the spirit of being fair.
“But honestly, I felt like they had trusted us, and when it worked out so well, I wanted to reciprocate, and it was amazing.
“I tell you, I heard the stories of what those guys could make, and I totally understand. They could transform an event having someone like that, even for one year.”
Rafael Nadal’s run at the Washington Open in 2021
Nadal came into the Washington Open in 2021 fresh off his semi-final defeat to Novak Djokovic at Roland Garros, which was just the third loss of his career at the event.
His opening matchup in D.C. was against home hope Jack Sock, whom he defeated in three sets to advance to round two.
RoundOpponentScoreSecond RoundLloyd Harris6-4, 1-6, 6-4 (L)First RoundJack Sock6-4, 4-6, 7-6 (W)Rafael Nadal’s 2021 Washington Open campaign
The Spaniard’s campaign would end there, though, as he fell to South Africa’s Lloyd Harris 6-4, 1-6, 6-4, in what would be his final match that year.
Scheduled to play Harris again in his first-round bout at the Canadian Open a week later, Nadal withdrew from the Masters 1000 tournament due to a foot injury.