MUBADALA CITI DC OPEN

July 21, 2025

Hailey Baptiste

Venus Williams

Press Conference

BAPTISTE-V.WILLIAMS/Bouchard-Ngounoue

6-3, 6-1

THE MODERATOR: Congrats, you guys. If you just want to each give your thoughts on the match and also the crowd.

HAILEY BAPTISTE: Yeah, I mean, the crowd was insane. From the moment we stepped out of the players area, you could kind of feel the buzz. Walking onto the court, just felt all the love for the both of us.

I was obviously very nervous to play with her. I didn't want to let her down first match back and everything. But we got our rhythm, and it was just great from there.

VENUS WILLIAMS: Yeah, it was such a pleasure to play with Hailey. I think she held the team up. I think she hit every ball in the second set (smiling).

But the crowd was, like, wow. I think in that situation you can either crumble with the crowd or it can let you rise, and I think we rose together with the crowd and with each other.

THE MODERATOR: Questions.

Q. Hailey, I'm sure you watched Venus growing up, and you said earlier you practiced with her, you have played. But what was this moment like playing on the same team with her at home?

HAILEY BAPTISTE: Yeah, I mean, for me, it's a dream come true, you know. It's something I probably didn't expect to happen in my career. So to have the opportunity is just really amazing for me.

To be able to share the court with her, even if I was playing against her, would have been amazing. But to actually be able to team up with her and get a win, I mean, no words.

Q. I just wanted to say congrats on the win. Earlier this month we celebrated National Black Women in Sports Day, July 7. To get the win, to see the crowd, to be here in Washington, D.C., formerly known at Chocolate City, what's that mean for both of you to know what you represent to so many young girls out there?

VENUS WILLIAMS: Yeah, I think today, you know, tennis is about excellence. I'm very pro-women and women in sports, so that's so important too, but today we got to see three African Americans on the court. So it's amazing that now African American girls know they can play tennis, that that's an option, an opportunity for them to be out there too on the court in whatever capacity. Whether you get to the pros, whether you play college, or whether you just learn from the sport. So from both of those angles, women in sports, all women in sports of all colors.

HAILEY BAPTISTE: Yeah, obviously D.C. is probably the Blackest tournament on tour. It's great to be able to come out here and be an inspiration for more girls like me and younger than me, and this is exactly where I watched my first professional match and got the inspiration to turn pro. It's incredible.

Q. Venus, this was your first time on a match court in more than a year, so how did you feel being back out in a match? Do you get any sort of info how your singles might be tomorrow after getting a foot on the match court today?

VENUS WILLIAMS: Yeah, after the match Hailey asked me, How did that feel? It's probably even harder to play the doubles first because I'm not a doubles player.

So it's great to have her to kind of hold the team up. She's had the experience. She served first because she's been playing all year and playing well. I think that helped me a lot I think also just to kind of get the feel for the ball. Obviously singles I have a little more experience even though doubles I have had some great results.

So I think it's just nice to be able to play. Where I am at this year is so much different where I was at last year. It's night and day, being able to be here and prepare for the tournament as opposed to preparing for surgery a year ago.

Q. For both of you, you talked about the immense fan support, but I don't know if you had the opportunity to see Kevin Durant sitting over there. Just what did that mean to see another prominent athlete courtside watching the both of you?

VENUS WILLIAMS: Yeah, we were both so focused. And after the match, I was, like, Did you see Kevin Durant walk in? She was, like, yeah. (Laughter.)

HAILEY BAPTISTE: I heard the crowd started screaming, KD, KD. I was, like, I'm not even going to look over right now. Let me just focus on this next return.

It's sick that he came out to support us and it's really cool.

VENUS WILLIAMS: That's actually I think when you started playing better. (Laughter.) I was, like, I want to show KD what I can do. Hit the ball to me.

They hit every ball to you. I was, like, Okay, whatever. However we win is fine. (Laughter.)

Q. Venus, you mentioned preparing for surgery a year ago. How did that experience kind of change your perspective? Maybe unlike all the things you have gone through, you've gone through your routine a million times. Did that bring kind of a different perspective to today or how important it felt?

VENUS WILLIAMS: Yeah, I think my perspective at that time is I just want to be healthy. You can play all the matches in the world, can you do all the things in the world, but when your health is gone or when your opportunities are being taken away, it just puts a whole new perspective.

I wasn't even thinking about tennis at that point. Just wanted to have a successful surgery that, you know, I lived through. So that was kind of what was on my mind.

Yeah, it just put everything into perspective, like tennis is a game, it's our life, literally our obsession, it's actually a cult, I think. You guys would know. You guys are here every year too (smiling).

But at the end of the day, it doesn't really matter if your health is not there. So it definitely put it in perspective for me and maybe made it easier to make the decision to maybe come back out here and maybe play even freer.

Q. Congrats to you both. Hailey said you're an inspiration. She didn't want to let you down when you got out on the court. You have been playing over 30 years. You have people who have been watching you since they were babies playing with you. What's your message to this young tennis community, especially here in the D.C. area? Hailey, you can add to that, as well. You have people watching you, playing here at home. Your message to them, as well.

VENUS WILLIAMS: I think for me it's just an honor to still be a part of that inspiration, because in order to know that you can do something, you have to see someone like you doing it. Then the whole floodgates open.

I think that's what happened is the floodgates have opened. You see girls of color at every level, whether it's junior, college, or whether it's professional level. That's been an honor.

Hailey obviously is here now too, and she has her own shine. She's worked hard to make these achievements that she has and having her best year. Clearly more to come, God willing.

It's great to kind of be a part of that, and, you know, be a part of that while I'm still here, yeah.

HAILEY BAPTISTE: Yeah, no, I think she's always going to be an inspiration to young Black women. Yeah, like I said, it's amazing to be able to do this and share the court with her.

I have been having a great year. This is like a cherry on top to what's been going on this summer. Going to be more thankful for everything that she's done and is continuing to do for the game and young Black women.

Q. I'm not going to ask specifically what you two discussed on the court, but the opportunity to see the game through someone like Venus' eyes, how you think you might be able to apply that on court yourself in tough moments?

HAILEY BAPTISTE: Yeah, I think that she's always out to kill, which is obvious, because she's been so dominant in her career. Even, you know, we're down one time 40-15 or 15-40 in her service game, and she's, like, All right, let's get three in a row. And we did.

I think a few games later I was in that same situation. We got three in a row. I was kind of going off that. I think that was really cool. To be able to get that insight from her is awesome.

Q. Venus, when you won, the joy on yourself was palpable. You just talked about tennis being a cult. All the training, hard work for those 30 seconds, the win, the wave to the crowd. Do you appreciate the wins more now, do you think, at this point in your career?

VENUS WILLIAMS: Well, you gotta win to learn to win. You gotta win to win again. Isn't that a conundrum?

But in any case, it's so much work. I have been training for months to get to this moment, and then you train to be prepared to win in this moment, but it's not a guarantee. So you don't win until that final point is over.

So we hung in there, we played very serious tennis, and that last point, that's when you get to enjoy it. I think there are other performers, singers, they get to enjoy their performance throughout. But as an athlete, it's only in that final moment that you can just let go. Other than that, it's pure tension, pure focus, it's pure fire.

So I think it's important to share those emotions, you know, to let go and to share that with the crowd and with the fans and with the world who are right there with you, you know, to see that moment of happiness in full circle.