Venus Williams, who made a return to professional sport after 16 months of break, also made a surprising personal announcement.
After becoming the second-oldest woman to win a tour-level singles match, Venus thanked her fiance, who was present in the stands at the DC Open.
“My fiance is here and he really encouraged me to keep playing,” she said.
Williams`s fiance`s name is Andrea Preti, who is a Danish-born Italian model and actor. The sister of well-known tennis star, Serena Williams, Venus, has been quite private with her relationship with the actor. They were first linked romantically in July 2024 after being spotted boating in Nerano in Italy.
Williams revealed that Preti kept encouraging her to get through difficult phase of her career.
“Do you know how hard it is to play tennis? You guys don`t know how much work goes into this, like it`s 9 to 5 except you`re running the whole time. Lifting weights and just like dying and then you repeat it the next day. So he encouraged me to get through this and it`s wonderful to be here. He`s never seen me play,” said the 45-year-old athlete.
Before her win in the singles match, the 45-year-old also won the doubles game with Hailey Baptiste. The duo defeated Canada`s Eugenie Bouchard and US teen Clervie Ngounoue by 6-3, 6-1.
After advancing to the next round, Venus and Hailey suffered a loss against America`s Taylor Townsend and China`s Zhang Shuai by 4-6, 6-3. 6-10.
While her doubles title attempt is over, the seven Grand Slam singles titles winner, Venus Williams, will now lock horns against Magdalena Frech in the next round of her singles round.
Her last appearance on the court was in March 2024 at the Miami Open.
On the personal front, Williams`s fiance Andrea Preti`s acting credits include `Temptation,` `A Professor,` `One More Day,` along with an appearance on the Italian reality show, `La Talpa`.
With the engagement now confirmed, fans will be excited to know if the couple has finalised a wedding date.
(With Agencies Inputs)
