MUBADALA CITI DC OPEN

July 20, 2025

Venus Williams

Press Conference

VENUS WILLIAMS: Hello. How's everybody? Long time, no see.

I'm going to start out.

THE MODERATOR: Yeah, I was just going to say welcome, and give us your thoughts ahead of your first match in D.C.

VENUS WILLIAMS: I'm so excited to be here in D.C. Playing here is like playing at home. I have an older sister who lives here, a cousin who lives here, lots of cousins, a niece, my great nephew, on and on and on. All my family are here, all my friends are here.

The community here that supports me so much, it's like playing at home. I've been coming to D.C. for a long time. I see a lot of people, like this gentleman back here who said I first met you when you were 13. And I remember my first time coming here, I was about 13 years old.

So definitely a love affair with D.C. and also a great opportunity to play in the U.S., which, you know, the American players aren't afforded as much. And also, this is very special for me to come back and play tennis. I think it's a surprise for the fans and a surprise in general as I hold my cards tight (smiling).

You know, in this last year, I have been through a lot physically, as well. So to come back and be able to play and hopefully enjoy myself is a great opportunity, so I'm very grateful to the tournament for the wildcard. I'm very grateful to Mark who I call a friend. He does so much for tennis and the community here. I really admire him. It's great to be a part of that.

Any questions you may have that I didn't already answer?

THE MODERATOR: Questions.

Q. Nice to see you. How did you decide when and where that you wanted to return to tour? Like you said, we weren't sure if you were going to come back to play and when or if you would come back to play. You were listed as inactive. What was your process on deciding that D.C. was the time and place you wanted and would be ready to compete again?

VENUS WILLIAMS: Yeah, I feel like I have a joke with Mark every year. He's, like, I have a wildcard for you.

Yeah, maybe I'll come.

Most of the time I don't. But this time I had been hitting the ball. And of course I love the game, and the hard courts, it's my favorite surface, what I feel comfortable on. So all those different factors.

Q. So you inspired a generation with Serena. How does it make you feel when Taylor Townsend and Hailey Baptiste and Clervie Ngounoue say that you inspired them to play professional tennis?

VENUS WILLIAMS: It's incredible, actually. That was not what I thought would happen in my life. As a young person, I wanted to play the game, be a champion. I loved the game so much, I didn't realize that it would be so much bigger than myself.

And seeing these young women doing positive things with their life, winning tournaments, inspiring the next generation, too, it's like I could have never imagined that. So it's like icing on the cake, cherries on top with the nuts and all the fixings. It's beautiful.

Q. At 45, though, you have the world by the hand. You have got everything going for you. It's hot, it's humid. You're going to be grinding out there. Why? Why?

VENUS WILLIAMS: Why not (smiling)?

Q. Good to see you again. What have you missed the most and maybe what did you miss the least about being off the tour?

VENUS WILLIAMS: Um, I'm not a person that misses a lot. So when I was doing what I was doing, I mean, I have so much I'm doing off of the court that kept me so busy that I don't know if I had time to miss anything.

But I do know that when I went to Wimbledon this year, I was there for a day, and it was so beautiful and exciting, and I remembered all the times that I had, and of course the adrenaline, all those things.

I think just the pure fun of playing the game, the fun of the challenge, overcoming -- when you play, you overcome so many challenges: your opponents, the conditions, a lot of times you have to overcome yourself. Those things are very exciting. So I think maybe just the challenge of it all.

Q. Do you have plans to play elsewhere after this? Have you thought ahead to that?

VENUS WILLIAMS: I'm just here for now, and who knows? Maybe there's more. Like I said, I hold my cards close, but at the moment, I'm focused just on this.

I haven't played in a year. There is no doubt I can play tennis, but obviously coming back to play matches, it takes time to get in the swing of things.

I definitely feel I'll play well. I'm still the same player. I'm a big hitter. I hit big. This is my brand (smiling).

So it's about hitting big and actually putting it in. So this will be my effort: put it in the court. That's my main goal (laughing).

Q. What are some personal goals that you have for yourself heading into this week? Does success look the same as it did prior to stepping away and now coming back?

VENUS WILLIAMS: My personal goal is to have fun I think right now, and enjoy the moment, not put too much pressure on myself.

Of course I love winning. I want to win. But more than anything, I just want to get the best out of myself. If I can do that, then I'll be fine.

Q. And what does success look like to you, being on the other side of a 16-month hiatus?

VENUS WILLIAMS: I know. It's been a while (smiling).

I don't know if I define success at this moment in any sort of way other than believing in myself and sticking to my process. That's what I'll try to do when I'm out there. It's what I try to do on the practice court.

And obviously that's such a broad statement. My process is only known to me, but to believe in yourself isn't always easy at every moment. In the match you believe in yourself one point and not in the other. That's not easy to do, especially after a layoff. So those are my goals.

Q. You did some work for TNT Sports during Roland Garros. How did you enjoy that broadcasting side of things? Is that something you might want to do in the future?

VENUS WILLIAMS: It was very fun. I had the opportunity to work with TNT. It was so fun to work with TNT. I think they wanted to bring a new perspective to what was happening with the coverage.

I got to do some fun stuff, work with some fun people, and, you know, in tennis, outside of tennis. I think it could be very easy to say the wrong thing, is what I realized when I was live on the air. I was, like, Just be careful. Don't say the wrong thing. Don't be too opinionated, because I have a lot of opinions, and many of them possibly unfounded. So don't put too many of those opinions out there.

So I'm glad I got out of it without being canceled. I don't know that it's something I would do full time, but I think there are great moments to be involved in the game in that way, and that was a lot of fun.

Q. You talk about your cards and keeping them close to you. Do you have your own sense of what you want to do, or are you still figuring things out as you go?

VENUS WILLIAMS: I think I know what I want to do, but I don't always want to talk about it.

Q. Another sort of mystery, Serena posted a video of herself hitting a few days ago and she looked like she was hitting well, from the angle we saw, at least. I don't know if you're skeptical of that. Do you think she might ever rejoin you on tour as well?

VENUS WILLIAMS: I don't ask those questions. I don't ask her that. I'm her biggest fan. I never wanted her to retire.

I knew she was retiring, and it took me time to come to terms with it. I was, like, Why?

I understood why. But in any case, I think she came out there because I was actually hitting too. So she comes out and she hit, and then, you know, I had the hitters there and we were leaving. I was, like, Do you want to hit some more? They can stay.

No, I'm done.

She hit like 15 or 20 minutes. She can take six months off and she clocks it clean. You can't teach that kind of talent. She's just so good.

I don't know what she's going to do. I don't ask those questions. I think we always hit the ball, because that's who we are, we're always hitting. Quite frankly, it's great cardio. You get great legs and great arms from tennis, quiet as it's kept. So obviously that's part of her goal too is to stay in shape.

I mean, I keep saying to my team, The only thing that would make this better is if she was here, like we always did everything together, so of course I miss her.

But if she comes back, I'm sure she'll let y'all know.

Q. As someone who, in addition to winning a lot on court, you also brought a lot of style and fashion sense to the court. What do you make of where tennis fashion has gone in the last few years? As someone who's stayed involved in fashion over the last few years, where do you see tennis fashion going and where would you like to see it go?

VENUS WILLIAMS: I think tennis fashion is going great, right? Serena and I came out and we were, like, doing these things, and it's just kept on going, which is great.

Tennis is a great sport, too. There is a lot of sports where you've got to wear the uniform. But here you don't. People are taking that latitude to express themselves and who they are. Coco did a great thing with Miu Miu, and you see the people doing the things. It's very cute. I love it.

Q. Were you ever worried about needing to retire or feared it might have been your only option after your injuries and health journey?

VENUS WILLIAMS: Yeah, my health journey was very scary. You know, this time a year ago I was preparing to go to surgery. There was no way for me to play tennis or play the US Open, or those things weren't even on my mind. I was just trying to get healthy.

Then after that, I just took that time to -- you know, I wanted to try to play sooner but I couldn't. So in any case, here I am. Things really change in a year. They really do.

Q. When your name came out in the draw ceremony yesterday, it got some of the biggest cheers.

VENUS WILLIAMS: Aw.

Q. What does it mean for you to come back and play in front of your fans? Also, you feel your big draw. What does it mean for a player like you and maybe other players to help promote the sport in the United States?

VENUS WILLIAMS: I always felt a big responsibility towards promoting tennis and also promoting women's sports. I think that this generation can't forget that, that women, we still have lots to fight for and an example to set. It's so important.

Of course I'm in love with tennis, so to have an opportunity to have this platform to promote the game even now is a great opportunity. I think when I go out there, I'll definitely be trying to focus on me and not focusing on playing for the fans. I think in places like this, it's one of the only places where I feel that way.

I'll definitely try to keep the focus on me and what I'm doing. But I know that I'll love playing here, and the last time I played here too was such a great feeling.

Q. Whether on the court or off the court, what's helped keep you grounded? Maybe you get frustrated by this or that or elevated one way or the other. What keeps you grounded to make sure you're always you?

VENUS WILLIAMS: What keeps me grounded are the people around me that I love. You know, I believe in love and those around me, so my family, my friends. They keep me going and keep me grounded.

Those are the people that are there for you when the things are lowest. They're there for you also when the things are highest, because also it's hard too when you're high and trying to maintain that and trying to deal with what's happening when you're high and low.

So the love always gets you through.