Venus Williams will play in Washington

https://twitter.com/x/status/1947831043525853189

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:D
 
I watched a pretty lengthy set of highlights. Venus started miserably -- her groundstrokes were completely uncalibrated. It took her about half a set to really find the range, but when she did, she played pretty well. She clearly had more power than Stearns and could whack the occasional impressive winner when she got the target dialed in. Her serving was generally strong, and again, Venus's power here was a big advantage. Her movement was excellent for a 45-year-old, and probably better than most people expected. What was most noticeable, IMO, was that Venus looked like Venus on the court. Sure, she was older, slower, and wilder, but she played her game. This wasn't some hobbled facsimile of Venus just trying to survive.

Stearns was pretty awful most of the time. Errors galore. She had a few moments in which she rose to the occasion and looked ready to extend the match, but otherwise her play was sloppy and tactically aimless. I've certainly see her play much, much better. She seemed to have caught a case of Ferreritis, i.e., short player's disease, with a ton of balls hit into the net for no real reason.
 
JMR said:
I watched a pretty lengthy set of highlights. Venus started miserably -- her groundstrokes were completely uncalibrated. It took her about half a set to really find the range, but when she did, she played pretty well. She clearly had more power than Stearns and could whack the occasional impressive winner when she got the target dialed in. Her serving was generally strong, and again, Venus's power here was a big advantage. Her movement was excellent for a 45-year-old, and probably better than most people expected. What was most noticeable, IMO, was that Venus looked like Venus on the court. Sure, she was older, slower, and wilder, but she played her game. This wasn't some hobbled facsimile of Venus just trying to survive.

Stearns was pretty awful most of the time. Errors galore. She had a few moments in which she rose to the occasion and looked ready to extend the match, but otherwise her play was sloppy and tactically aimless. I've certainly see her play much, much better. She seemed to have caught a case of Ferreritis, i.e., short player's disease, with a ton of balls hit into the net for no real reason.
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Exactly! This wasn't the Venus that barely won over Kudermetova in a match that wasn't fun to watch, this was VENUS, it felt like I was watching the Queen again. So exciting :D

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She made 4 UEs in the opening game to be broken, but gradually grew in confidence, was hitting big serves, returning well (really killing Stearns' 2nd serves), hitting effective volleys and that defensive lob she hit was excellent.

Plus her post-match interview was great as well.

Her first singles win for 709 days, and she's the oldest winner of a singles match since a 47 year Navratilova won her R1 match at Wimbledon in 2004.

Her first win came on October 31st 1994 in Oakland, and 30-31 years later she's still able to win on the main circuit. That's some going !
 
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Think this has to show you that Peak Fred, Peak Ralph, Peak Nolan would probably handle the "new guys".

This was R1 for Venus, but you might as well say this was her Sunday Final.

Granted, Stearns isn't a top 5 player, but Venus not only has an auto-immune condition that has been pulling her down for years, but even at age 45 you can see she doesn't move well but she still knows how to play the game properly.

I'm unconvinced that Sinner and Alcaraz would even stand a chance against Peak Ralph or Peak Fred on clay and grass respectively.
 
Winners or Errors said:
Yup, just taking up a spot someone else who could beat #35 player should have gotten... obviously.
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Organizers will award wild cards to sell tickets. That is to be expected and applauded in a profit-driven capitalistic system.

It is up to the player to decide whether to accept the free pass.

There are only 28 spots in the DC Open 500 women singles field. 24 spots excluding wild cards. Very very few opportunities for active players to gain precious ranking points.

We must presume that most of the active players strongly resent wild cards being awarded to non-active retired players.

If everyone's favourite Venus really wants to play, why doesn't she play qualifiers? Qualifiers is the best way to sharpen up her rusty play.
:unsure:

www.si.com

The Pros Are There for a Reason … or a Wild Card

The sport may appear accessible on television, but the reality of those competing in majors is much different, and often decided by fame, power and money.
www.si.com www.si.com

“Wild cards are deeply problematic and fundamentally unfair. They benefit players who, by sheer accident of birth, come from wealthy countries or those that host majors. They are subjective in a sport that prides itself on objectivity. They are a gateway to corruption.”

“Imagine being the X-ranked player and seeing a colleague ranked beneath you get an automatic golden ticket, while you have to try to qualify.”

We’ve seen the girlfriend of an IMG-repped player get a wild card. At a time when tennis has taken a stand against Russian players, we’ve seen IMG give wild cards to Russian teenagers simply because they are clients. Five years ago Frances Tiafoe—young, American, Black, fresh from having won the Delray Beach Open—was denied a wild card simply because he was not an IMG client. Expanding this beyond Miami … we’ve seen players’ otherwise undeserving siblings get wild cards. We’ve seen stars demand wild cards for friends as a condition for their entering an event.
 
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JMR said:
Stearns was pretty awful most of the time. Errors galore. She had a few moments in which she rose to the occasion and looked ready to extend the match, but otherwise her play was sloppy and tactically aimless. I've certainly see her play much, much better. She seemed to have caught a case of Ferreritis, i.e., short player's disease, with a ton of balls hit into the net for no real reason.
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Stearns was awful and did not move or play like someone ranked #35.
Have to believe Stearns was carrying some injury as evidenced by her heavily bandaged leg
 
Rosstour said:
I doubt it, Serena lost a lot with the C section

I’ve had my muscle cut to remove my appendix and unfortunately the weakness of that ab muscle caused all kinds of imbalances and it was just a 1-2 inch incision.
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Sorry to hear that! Yes, you're right, and also one thing that people don't appreciate enough is that it's not one match that is hard for older players, but backing it up, because of increased recovery time. Serena's penultimate match was a victory against the world #2 (admittedly, a very weak world #2), but her final match was a loss against someone whose highest-ever ranking is #32.
 
helterskelter said:
Sorry to hear that! Yes, you're right, and also one thing that people don't appreciate enough is that it's not one match that is hard for older players, but backing it up, because of increased recovery time. Serena's penultimate match was a victory against the world #2 (admittedly, a very weak world #2), but her final match was a loss against someone whose highest-ever ranking is #32.
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I was at the last match, it was one of the most insane atmospheres I’ve ever experienced
 
ey039524 said:
From July 11:
Thought it was an old pic when my wife showed me.
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Oh wow.

Well, now I know why Venus said “if she comes back I’m sure she’ll let y’all know”

She certainly looks like she’s trying to get in playing shape. Never seen her that skinny. Looks like she’s using a GLP-1 (Wegovy, Ozempic).

Never thought I’d see Serena looking skinnier than Venus. Venus looks very bloated, and seems to have lost a lot of muscle mass in her legs. They look like a much older woman’s calves
 
Rosstour said:
Oh wow.

Well, now I know why Venus said “if she comes back I’m sure she’ll let y’all know”

She certainly looks like she’s trying to get in playing shape. Never seen her that skinny. Looks like she’s using a GLP-1 (Wegovy, Ozempic).

Never thought I’d see Serena looking skinnier than Venus. Venus looks very bloated, and seems to have lost a lot of muscle mass in her legs. They look like a much older woman’s calves
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Yeah, I thought the same thing about a glp-1. She didn't have her second daughter that long ago.
 
All the haters hating but Venus playing at 45 and legitimately winning is fantastic for the sport. People don’t understand how much people love the game and the competition. Same with 46yo Pacquiao drawing the 30yo WBC Welterweight champion
 
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sureshs said:
If a billionaire male rec player without a single ATP point is allowed to play a HOF tournament, I see no problem in awarding a WC to a woman who was booed by the crowd at Indian Wells when she and her sister were teenagers.
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Not only that, but she packed out a R1 WTA match at the DC Open. It now has 180,000 views on Youtube, more than the hyper-marketable Osaka and Raducanu combined.

Venus's swan song is well-earned. 23 total Slam trophies including 11 on Center Court. Of course she's getting a wildcard on home soil. Arthur Ashe will be filled to the brim for her 1R defeat in August, and that's great for the sport.
 
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