This was not a one-stop hello-and-farewell appearance for the 45-year-old Venus Williams, who had been away from the tour for 16 months before showing up in Washington and winning once each in singles and doubles.

Venus Williams returned to tennis this week, winning her first tour-level match in two years. She says she returned to the court, in part, to keep her health insurance. “I had to come back for the insurance because they informed me earlier this year that I’m on COBRA!

Venus Williams became the second-oldest woman to win a tour-level singles match in professional tennis, delivering some of her familiar big serves and groundstrokes at age 45 while beating Peyton Stearns — 22 years her junior — by a 6-3, 6-4 score at the DC Open on Tuesday night.

The 45-year-old tennis star confirmed her engagement to actor Andrea Preti during an interview Tuesday after her first tennis singles match in a year. During the post-game conversation, Rennae Stubbs called Williams a “newly engaged woman,” and the athlete smiled in response.

The 45-year-old, who lost in the second round Thursday at the DC Open in her return to tennis, has never looked happier after a loss.

SportsLine tennis expert Blake Von Hagen reveals his 2025 Mubadala Citi DC Open picks for Thursday's women's second-round match between Magdalena Frech and Venus Williams

Venus Williams’ return to professional tennis will not just be a one-tournament visit. She has been awarded a wild-card entry on Wednesday for next month’s Cincinnati Open.

The comments by the tennis great draw attention to the broader crisis of health care affordability and medical debt.