Venus Williams stepped on the court at the Australian Open for the first time in five years on Sunday after receiving a wild card entry. She became the oldest woman to ever play the major tournament at age 45, although she definitely didn’t look to be the oldest competitor in the women’s draw during her first round match.
Williams opened up the match against Olga Danilovic winning in a close tiebreak, 7–6. She then dropped the second set 6–3 to even things up. Williams appeared to be on her way to victory when she started the third set 4–0 over Danilovic, her biggest lead in years. However, the Serbian then won the next four games to tie it up. Danilovic won the final two games (to make it six in a row) to beat Williams in three sets. The match took two hours and 17 minutes—not bad for a 45-year-old.
Age is but a number, kinda like 7-6(5)...
— #AusOpen (@AustralianOpen) January 18, 2026
Venus Williams winds back the clock to take an absorbing first set off Olga Danilovic!@wwos • @espn • @tntsports • @wowowtennis • #AO26 pic.twitter.com/HoXbe2TSyr
Regardless of the outcome, Williams was happy with how she competed on Sunday.
“I’m really proud of my effort today because I’m playing better with each match, getting to the places that I want to get to,” Williams said, via the Associated Press. “Right now, I’m just going to have to keep going forward and working on myself and working to control my errors. Those are things, too, that come with playing extra matches ... all of those things that I’m still learning. It’s kind of weird, but it’s super exciting to have played that well and to get myself in that position and come very close.”
Williams hasn’t won a match since she competed in the D.C. Open last July. She had a first-round exit in the U.S. Open last September, too.
But, based on Williams’s reaction to her playing on Sunday, it doesn’t sound like the tennis legend plans on hanging up her racket any time soon. We’ll see when we get to witness her on the court next.
More on Sports Illustrated
- The CFP Defensive Showdown Has Familiarity for Coordinators Finally on Biggest Stage
- Miami’s Big-Money Push for Darian Mensah Exposes College Football’s Portal Problem
- 'They’re All Coming Back': Major Winners Commend PGA Tour for Reinstating Ex-LIV Players
- How Jai Lucas Engineered One of College Basketball’s Fastest Turnarounds
- By Sharing the Ball, De’Aaron Fox Helped Unlock the Spurs
This article was originally published on www.si.com as Venus Williams Loses Tough First-Round Australian Open Match in Three Sets.
