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.

Williams could not overcome 27-year-old Magdalena Frech, 6-2, 6-2, in the second round of the tournament on Thursday, July 24. Williams has not won back-to-back matches since 2019. Venus Williams and Hailey Baptiste won their first-round match in doubles play on Monday, but the duo fell short of reaching the third round.

Venus Williams, 45, became the oldest player in 21 years to win a WTA Tour match after a straight-set win in the DC Open over Peyton Stearns.