Williams<\/a> became the second woman since 1990 to clinch a WTA<\/a> victory aged 45 or over, following her American compatriot, Martina Navratilova<\/a>.<\/p>\n In seasons gone by, other greats have taken to the courts in the US capital, including Rafael Nadal<\/a>, whom tournament director Mark Ein recently told an \u2018amazing\u2019 story about.<\/p>\n On the \u2018Nothing Major\u2019 podcast, Ein said: \u201cI will tell you, the thing about Rafa, and he is retired, so I think I can say this now.<\/p>\n \u201cHis team actually called and said: \u2018He wants to play DC, tell us what is fair, and we will take it. He needs to play\u2019.<\/p>\n \u201cIt was in the middle of Covid, so at the time we could only have half the stands full. He said just tell us what\u2019s fair. We gave him a number, and they said great.<\/p>\n \u201cLook, 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.<\/p>\n \u201cBut 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.<\/p>\n<\/p>\n \u201cBut honestly, I felt like they had trusted us, and when it worked out so well, I wanted to reciprocate, and it was amazing.<\/p>\n \u201cI 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.\u201d<\/p>\n Rafael Nadal\u2019s run at the Washington Open in 2021<\/p>\n Nadal came into the Washington Open in 2021 fresh off his semi-final defeat to Novak Djokovic<\/a> at Roland Garros, which was just the third loss of his career at the event. <\/p>\n![\"Citi](\"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/us\/wp-content\/uploads\/2025\/07\/GettyImages-1332867235.jpg\")
Photo by Mitchell Layton\/Getty ImagesMark Ein tells \u2018amazing\u2019 story about Rafael Nadal at the Washington Open<\/p>\n