What Venus Williams did after her latest win that reminded her former coach of when she was 14

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Venus Williams picked up her first singles win since 2022, beating Peyton Stearns in the opening round of the Washington Open.

Williams’ return to the winner’s circle at 45 years old has earned her praise from all corners of the tennis world, including a message from Naomi Osaka.

READ MORE: Carlos Alcaraz explains what made the difference in his French Open win over Jannik Sinner

It’s been an encouraging start to her comeback. She also teamed up with Hailey Baptiste for a doubles win earlier in the week.

Reflecting on her performance against Stearns, Williams’ former coach spoke about how he saw shades of her early career in this latest victory.

Rick Macci sees familiar traits in Venus Williams’ latest WTA win

Williams was just 14 when she won her first professional match in 1994, defeating Shaun Stafford at the WTA event in Oakland, California.

Her coach at the time, Rick Macci, has since shared his thoughts on that win and how it compares to her most recent one.

Macci took to X (formerly Twitter) after the match, noting that Williams smiled in exactly the same way as she did after her very first WTA victory.

He wrote: “After Venus won at age 14 she was a SMILING HUMAN POGO STICK waiting to shake hands at the net in 1994.

“After Venus won at age 45 she as a SMILING HUMAN POGO STICK waiting to shake hands at the net in 2025. Same inner joy Wire that made Vee soar even higher.”

Macci coached both Williams sisters early on and has previously spoken about how many majors Venus might have claimed if Serena hadn’t been part of the picture.

Venus Williams’ next opponent after beating Peyton Stearns

Following her win over Stearns at the Washington Open, Williams learned in her post-match interview that she would be facing Magdalena Frech next.

Williams didn’t seem to know much about Frech, but she’s currently ranked 24th in the world and is the fifth seed at this year’s tournament.

Frech claimed her biggest career title at the WTA 500 event in Guadalajara last year, but hasn’t managed to put together consecutive wins since the Australian Open.

For Williams, it’s been even longer since she won two matches in a row—dating back to Cincinnati in August 2019.

Before turning her focus to Frech, Williams will first have to prepare for her doubles quarterfinal alongside Baptiste.