US OPEN

August 23, 2025

Venus Williams

Press Conference

THE MODERATOR: Venus, just your initial thoughts on being back here at US Open.

VENUS WILLIAMS: Oh, yeah, super thrilling to be back. It does not get old; it just gets more exciting. And I'm looking forward to Monday night.

THE MODERATOR: Questions.

Q. What would you most want people to take away from how motivated you are and have been over the last several years to keep going?

VENUS WILLIAMS: I haven't thought about what people would take away from it. I just mostly think about what I would get from it. There's that.

Q. How would you describe the joy that you have in continuing?

VENUS WILLIAMS: I love my job. So there's the joy right there.

Q. I was curious what you took away from the mixed doubles experience last week, playing with Reilly?

VENUS WILLIAMS: Oh, my gosh. He played so well. I played pretty hard too (smiling). Hit a lot of hard shots. A lot of them went in; some of them didn't.

I think it was super exciting for the players and the fans. At least I felt so.

Q. Given that this is the 75th Anniversary of Althea Gibson playing her first US National Championships, what does it mean to you to be celebrating this anniversary and Althea's legacy, and for the US Open to celebrate it as well?

VENUS WILLIAMS: I think the most important part is that we are celebrating it and recognizing it, because Althea accomplished so much, and a lot of it has not been given the credit it deserves and the attention and the praise.

I think that's the most important part to me, just shining light on it and seeing, just acknowledging that.

Q. As a mentor and role model, what advice would you give to rising stars like Alex Eala and Leylah Fernandez who are carrying hopes on the global stage?

VENUS WILLIAMS: Just enjoy yourself. When you're having fun, things are easy. When you're not, it's not as much fun. You have to put the fun first.

Q. If you can think back to the first time you played in Arthur Ashe Stadium, what your first impressions were of the place?

VENUS WILLIAMS: So nervous. First time, obviously US Open is huge, I don't know if I handled my emotions in the first set well but managed to turn it around, thank God. It was a really big beginning for me, so definitely a stadium worthy of the name.

Q. Back in Cincinnati you said that you were quite excited to feel good and be able to get in a couple of weeks of training and build. I'm curious what the last couple of weeks have been like.

VENUS WILLIAMS: Yeah, I did exactly what I needed to do. Right now, just hit too hard, it goes out. So I'm going to try to hit less hard so it goes in. But the good news is I'm having fun controlling the points. It's a great game style for me.

Q. I wondered what sort of expectations you're putting on yourself for this event?

VENUS WILLIAMS: I want to be my best, and that's the expectation I have for myself, to get the best out of me. And that's all any player can ask for.

I haven't played as much as the other players, so it's a different challenge when you're dealing with that. So I'm just trying to, like, have fun, stay relaxed, and be my personal best.

Q. In your earlier press conferences, you spoke about hitting even when you were not playing competitively. I wonder at what time of the day you do it? Are you a morning person? Do you like to hit in the morning? Or does it change every day? And why do you hit the tennis ball?

VENUS WILLIAMS: I like to hit in the mornings. I like to get out of the sun, if that makes any sense, save whatever is left of my skin.

I think I'll always play tennis. It's in my DNA. So it doesn't matter if it's now or 30 years from now. God willing, I'll be here, we'll all be here, we'll all be hitting balls. Maybe I'll come back to watch. Maybe I'll be saying I did it better, and it won't be true. But in any case, tennis will always be one of the most important parts of my life.