Venus Williams showed flashes of vintage form under the lights at Arthur Ashe Stadium on Monday but despite pushing Karolina Muchova to a deciding set the 45-year-old American fell 6-3 2-6 6-1 in a thrilling U.S. Open first-round battle.

The seven-times Grand Slam champion was making a record-extending 25th main draw appearance in New York, where she won the title in 2000 and 2001, and delivered a spirited performance before a packed and partisan crowd.

“I was stressed,” Muchova said in her on-court interview. “You guys make me stressed, it was an unbelievable atmosphere. She’s such a legend so it’s nice to share the court with her. I’m so happy I was able to win today.

“I just tried to block the noise, and be focused on myself.”

Muchova took the opening set with a pair of well-timed breaks but Williams responded well, using sharp net play and powerful groundstrokes to break early in the second before a blistering backhand winner earned her a double break and a 5-2 lead.

She needed three set points but finally clinched the set when Muchova sent a forehand long, marking her first set won at Flushing Meadows since 2020.

But the Czech, a U.S. Open semi-finalist in each of the last two years, hit back hard in the decider as Williams’ energy faded, racing through the set to seal victory and end the American’s latest comeback bid in two hours.

Williams, whose last U.S. Open appearance ended in a 6-1 6-1 defeat by Greet Minnen in 2023, enjoyed thunderous applause with every point she won and left the court to a warm ovation from fans.

-Reuters

Venus Williams will make her return to Grand Slam tennis at the U.S. Open after a two-year absence, receiving a wild-card invitation on Wednesday to compete in singles at Flushing Meadows at age 45.

The American will be the oldest entrant in singles at the tournament since Renee Richards was 47 in 1981, according to the International Tennis Federation.

Williams already had been given a wild-card entry by the U.S. Tennis Association for next week’s mixed doubles competition. Singles matches begin in New York on Aug. 24.

She is the owner of seven major singles championships — including at the U.S. Open in 2000 and 2001 — along with another 14 in women’s doubles, all won with her younger sister, Serena, plus two in mixed doubles. Serena retired with 23 Slam singles trophies after playing at the 2022 U.S. Open.

The older Williams last participated in a Grand Slam tournament at the 2023 U.S. Open, losing in the first round. She hasn’t won a singles match there since 2019.

When Williams came back to the tour last month at the DC Open for her first match anywhere in 16 months, a reporter asked whether that would be a one-time thing or if there were plans for other tournaments.

“I’m just here for now, and who knows?” she replied then. “Maybe there’s more. … But at the moment, I’m focused just on this. I haven’t played in a year. There is no doubt I can play tennis, but obviously coming back to play matches, it takes time to get in the swing of things. I definitely feel I’ll play well. I’m still the same player. I’m a big hitter. I hit big. This is my brand.”

Last year, Williams had surgery to remove uterine fibroids and missed most of the season. In Washington this July, she competed for the first time since March 2024 at the Miami Open and became the oldest woman to win a tour-level singles match since Martina Navratilova was 47 at Wimbledon in 2004; Williams also won a doubles match at the DC Open.

In the process, Williams drew a ton of attention for her tennis, yes, but also for letting the world know she’s engaged to an Italian actor and for her half-joking comments about needing to get back on court to get covered by health insurance.

“I love Venus. We’re friends. I didn’t really know this was something she was still wanting to do. But I also didn’t know it was something she didn’t want to do,” said Mark Ein, the chairman of the hard-court tournament in Washington. “I was surprised. And it was a wonderful surprise.”

Williams also entered the Cincinnati Open via a wild card last week, exiting in the first round of singles.

In New York, she will play in the Aug. 19-20 mixed doubles tournament with Reilly Opelka, a 27-year-old American who used to be ranked in the top 20.

Other women getting singles wild cards for the U.S. Open are Americans Clervie Ngounoue, Julieta Pareja, Caty McNally, Valerie Glozman and Alyssa Ahn, plus France’s Caroline Garcia — who’ll be playing in her last Grand Slam tournament before retirement — and Australia’s Talia Gibson.

Men’s wild cards went to Americans Brandon Holt, Nishesh Basavareddy, Tristan Boyer, Emilio Nava, Stefan Dostanic and Darwin Blanch, and France’s Valentin Royer and Australia’s Tristan Schoolkate.

-AP

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Naomi Osaka says 2024 is her “learning year” after coming back to the tour from a maternity break and the former world number one is trying to figure out how to better cope with the setbacks after being given a crash course in early Grand Slam exits.

Osaka has four major titles under her belt but the second round at Flushing Meadows, Wimbledon and Roland Garros was as good as it got this year for the Japanese 26-year-old, who exited the Australian Open in the first round.

On Thursday she lost 6-3 7-6(5) to Karolina Muchova, unable to get to grips with the Czech’s superb serve-and-volley tennis.

“It’s a little rough because I do take these losses really personally. It’s like a dramatic word, but I feel like my heart dies every time I lose,” she said.

“I’ve been trying to be more mature and learn and talk more about them.”

Osaka has been a champion for mental health in sport as she publicly struggled with the pressure to succeed, telling reporters in Flushing in 2021 that she no longer felt joy – only relief – when she won.

She has a new perspective now, she says, but is having to deal with frequent disappointments after packing her schedule since returning to the tour in January after 15 months away.

“It’s been a little difficult because obviously I can only gauge how I’m doing by results. Like, I feel faster. I feel better, but I lost in the second round. So it’s a little rough,” she told reporters.

“But, also, it’s been fun playing a lot of tournaments. It’s been a commitment for sure, but I’ve been able to go to different cities that I’ve never been to.”

She lost in the second round of qualifying in Cincinnati but gave glimpses of her brilliance in New York as she handed 10th seed Jelena Ostapenko a straight-sets defeat in the first round.

“This year for me has been a learning year. I put a lot of energy and effort into all the tournaments that I played,” she said. “Obviously the U.S. Open is very special to me.”

-Reuters