SportsLine tennis expert Blake Von Hagen reveals his 2025 Mubadala Citi DC Open picks for Tuesday's women's first-round match between Peyton Stearns and Venus Williams

Venus Williams returned to tour-level tennis on Tuesday, defeating Peyton Stearns 6-3, 6-4 at the DC Open and winning her first match in nearly two years.

Venus Williams, 45, Turns Heads With Major Accomplishment originally appeared on Athlon Sports. Tennis legend Venus Williams was listed as inactive just last week, but ended up making some history during Tuesday's Mubadala Citi DC Open.

Venus Williams suggested this week that she only returned to tennis to get back on the WTA’s health insurance. Venus Williams just came back from a 16-month break from professional tennis. But she didn’t return because she missed playing — rather, she missed her health insurance.

The seven-time Grand Slam singles champion had not played a WTA Tour match since March of 2024 and had not won one since 2023.

Venus Williams becomes oldest Tour-level match winner since 2004 after beating Peyton Stearns at Citi Open - The 45-year-old returned to the singles court for the first time in over a year

Venus Williams beats Peyton Stearns in comeback match, reigniting debate over WTA's role in crafting generational storylines at the DC Open.

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