Venus Williams defeated Peyton Stearns 6-3, 6-4 to win her first tour-level match after over a year of not playing competitive tennis. As fans and media members reacted to the news, one of the 45-year-old’s colleagues also spoke about how much she admired her and her Serena Williams.
Naomi Osaka, who beat Kazakhstan’s Yulia Putintseva 6-2, 7-5 in her Citi Open first-round clash, spoke about her admiration for the Williams sisters during her post-match press conference on Wednesday. The Japanese said the tennis world should “value” the duo more.
‘They Are the Queens’ — Naomi Osaka on Venus Williams and Serena Williams
Osaka was asked if she had gotten a chance to interact with Venus Williams at the Citi DC Open, and the Japanese star said:
“I haven’t gotten to interact with her like in a more than ‘we were both going to practice’ type of thing. But for me, she’s like the queen. There’s a royal air around her. And I’m honestly kind of surprised that you guys are still here because I don’t know if she’s playing right now or if she’s about to walk on court.”
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As Osaka was doing her post-game media duties, Venus Williams was about to take to the court for her doubles clash against second seeds Taylor Townsend and Zhang Shuai
“So, I am probably going to go watch that,” Osaka said about Wednesday’s doubles match. “Yeah, I feel like whenever I see her or Serena, it’s like the kid in me comes out. They were my favorite players to watch, so it’s really cool that she’s kind of doing it for the fans too.”
Venus Williams and Hailey Baptiste suffered a 3-6, 1-6 defeat to Zhang Shuai and Taylor Townsend.
Osaka responded to a question about the time when she attended all of Serena Williams’s matches during the latter’s tennis swansong at the 2022 US Open and said:
“I mean, for me, it’s everything. I am grateful that they played so long and they’re continuing well. Maybe Serena’s coming here, but I don’t know. Fingers crossed.”
“I feel like it’s so great for the sport because, obviously, I grew up watching them, and then I was able to play with them. As a player myself, I know how difficult it is to be at the top for even that long of a time, even that’s really insane. And I think people should value them a bit more. They are my mothers, they are the queens,” Osaka added.
Venus Williams Will Face Magdalena Fręch in Citi DC Open 2R
After beating Peyton Stearns, Williams will next take on Magdalena Fręch in the second round of the Citi DC Open. The Pole put an end to a three-match losing streak after beating Yuliia Starodubtseva 6-2, 6-4.
Williams and Fręch will lock horns for the very first time and whoever wins, will face third seed Elena Rybakina in the quarterfinals of the Citi DC Open.
