WASHINGTON: There are plenty of reasons why this particular victory by Venus Williams in this particular tennis match — just one of hundreds — resonated with so many folks.
That she’s 45, for one thing. Only one woman, Martina Navratilova, ever has won a tour-level singles match while older; her last victory came at 47 in 2004.
That Williams hadn’t entered a tournament anywhere in 16 months.
That she needed surgery for uterine fibroids.
And when asked Tuesday night after beating her 23-year-old opponent, Peyton Stearns, 6-3, 6-4 at the DC Open what message others might take away from that performance and that result, Williams was quick to provide an answer.
“There are no limits for excellence. It’s all about what’s in your head and how much you’re able to put into it. If you put in the work mentally, physically, and emotionally, then you can have the result,” she said. “It doesn’t matter how many times you fall down. Doesn’t matter how many times you get sick or get hurt or whatever it is. If you continue to believe and put in the work, there is an opportunity, there is space, for you.”
Williams has been winning at tennis for decades. Her pro debut came when she was 14. Her first Grand Slam title came at Wimbledon in 2000, less than a month after her 20th birthday.
She accumulated four major singles trophies before Stearns was born and eventually wound up with seven, five at Wimbledon and two at the US Open, plus another 14 in women’s doubles — all with her sister Serena — and two in mixed doubles.
“I have so much respect for her to come back here and play, win or lose. That takes a lot of guts to step back onto court, especially with what she’s done for the sport,” said Stearns, who is ranked 35th and won NCAA singles and team titles at the University of Texas. “You have a lot behind you. You have accomplished a lot. And there is a lot of pressure on her and to kind of upkeep that at this age. So massive credit to her for that.”
There were challenges along the way for Williams, none more public than the diagnosis in 2011 of Sjögren’s syndrome, an energy-sapping auto-immune disease that can cause joint pain.
More recent was the pain from fibroids — noncancerous growths — and shortly before the DC Open, Williams said: “Where I am at this year is so much different (from) 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.”
As thrilled as the spectators — “Who I love, and they love me,” Williams said — were to be able to watch, and pull, for her under the lights Tuesday, other players were rather excited about it, too.
“I commend her so much for being out here,” said Taylor Townsend.
Naomi Osaka’s take: “She’s, like, the queen. There’s a royal air around her.”
“She’s one of the best athletes of all time,” Frances Tiafoe said. “Her and her sister, they’re not only great for the women’s game, not only great for women’s sports, but they are so iconic.”
Yet, there were some on social media who wondered whether it made sense for the tournament to award a wild-card entry to Williams instead of an up-and-coming player.
DC Open chairman Mark Ein said it took him about two seconds to respond “Of course” when Williams’ representative reached out in April to ask whether a spot in the field might be a possibility.
A reporter wanted to know Tuesday whether Williams took any satisfaction from proving doubters wrong.
“No, because I’m not here for anyone else except for me. And I also have nothing to prove. Zip. Zero. I’m here for me, because I want to be here,” she said. “And proving anyone wrong or thinking about anyone has never gotten me a win and has never gotten me a loss.”
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A historic win by 45-year-old Venus Williams resonates and shows there are no limits for excellence
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A historic win by 45-year-old Venus Williams resonates and shows there are no limits for excellence
- Only one woman, Martina Navratilova, ever has won a tour-level singles match while older; her last victory came at 47 in 2004
It’s the US (and the US) against the world as the NBA All-Star Game tries yet another format
INGLEWOOD, California: The NBA is trying its fourth All-Star Game format in four years this weekend as it attempts once again to answer one of the bigger existential questions in professional basketball.
How do you get both the players and their fans to care about this midseason showcase?
The newest scheme appears to be the most promising yet, at least according to people like Victor Wembanyama who still believe this game should matter. A team of veteran American All-Stars, a team of younger US players and a third team representing the rest of the world will play a round-robin tournament of 12-minute games Sunday, with the top two meeting again in the final.
It’s bold and different, but will it make the All-Stars give more effort than they’ve provided in these glorified pickup games over the past two decades? And will this setup draw in TV viewers who are already in a nationalistic mood from watching the Winter Olympics?
“I think it definitely has a chance to, and the reason is simple, in my opinion,” Wembanyama said Saturday. “We’ve seen that many of the best players have been increasingly foreign players, so there is some pride on that side. I guess there is some pride also on the American side, which is normal. So I think anything that gets closer to representing a country brings up the pride.”
Others aren’t so sure, to put it bluntly.
“With the teams split up, you don’t really know who you’re playing with or what the score is,” Kawhi Leonard said. “I’d rather it just be East and West, and just go out there and compete and see what the outcome is. I don’t think a format can make you compete.”
“Yeah, it is what it is at this point,” Minnesota’s Anthony Edwards said with a smirk.
This new concept is debuting in the NBA’s newest arena: Intuit Dome, the futuristic $2 billion basketball shrine opened in 2024 by Los Angeles Clippers owner Steve Ballmer. All-Star Saturday featured Damian Lillard’s third career victory in the 3-Point Contest, followed by Miami’s Keshad Johnson winning the Slam Dunk Contest.
While the players got a welcome weekend in the Southern California sun, the league is optimistic they’ll also provide a more entertaining product on Sunday.
“I’ve had conversations with our guys ... and our guys are coming to play,” said Detroit’s J.B. Bickerstaff, who will coach the younger American team. “They’re going to set a tone. I know that for sure, and I know that the group we have is a group of competitors. So I think the new format is going to help. It’s going to raise the level of competition and put some pride in the game, and then you’ll see the stars that are here being the best of themselves.”
The distinctions on these rosters are more than a bit fungible. The younger Americans’ team is called the “Stars,” and the older players are “Stripes,” but injury dropouts have blurred the lineups.
The World team has a powerhouse lineup with Wembanyama, Luka Doncic and Nikola Jokic — but it also includes Norman Powell, a born-and-raised Californian who plays for Jamaica internationally, and Karl-Anthony Towns, a New Jersey native who represents his mother’s Dominican Republic.
The NBA has repeatedly changed its All-Star format in the past decade while the sport wrestles with declining interest from both television audiences and the players themselves. The NBA ditched the long-standing East vs. West conference battle in 2018 to allow captains to pick their teams for six seasons, only to go back to the East vs. West format for a year before introducing a four-team tournament last year in San Francisco.
That tournament drew decidedly mixed reactions while Stephen Curry won the MVP award in his home arena. The NBA liked the mini-tournament format enough to bring it back for another year but with the added twist of nominally dividing the players by nationality.
With this iteration, the league is hoping that national pride and novelty will lead to entertaining hoops — but injuries have taken a toll even before the ball is tipped.
Curry won’t be playing for only the third time in the past 13 years, while the World team will be without Giannis Antetokounmpo and Shai Gilgeous-Alexander, two former league MVPs. But Leonard will represent the hosts, while Luka Doncic and LeBron James will play despite injury concerns.
James is appearing in his record 21st All-Star Game after being selected for the 22nd time in his unprecedented 23-year career.
The changes could spark excitement, but they’re also a bit confusing to fans who grew up watching the East take on the West each winter. That includes Pistons All-Star guard Cade Cunningham, who doesn’t think he’s really had the true All-Star experience yet.
“I grew up just wanting to be in the All-Star Game, (and) my only two years now, it’s been these different formats,” Cunningham said. “I would like to experience the East versus West. I want to be able to experience what all the greats played in, but I’m just playing the cards I was dealt. I’m sure it will come back eventually.”
How do you get both the players and their fans to care about this midseason showcase?
The newest scheme appears to be the most promising yet, at least according to people like Victor Wembanyama who still believe this game should matter. A team of veteran American All-Stars, a team of younger US players and a third team representing the rest of the world will play a round-robin tournament of 12-minute games Sunday, with the top two meeting again in the final.
It’s bold and different, but will it make the All-Stars give more effort than they’ve provided in these glorified pickup games over the past two decades? And will this setup draw in TV viewers who are already in a nationalistic mood from watching the Winter Olympics?
“I think it definitely has a chance to, and the reason is simple, in my opinion,” Wembanyama said Saturday. “We’ve seen that many of the best players have been increasingly foreign players, so there is some pride on that side. I guess there is some pride also on the American side, which is normal. So I think anything that gets closer to representing a country brings up the pride.”
Others aren’t so sure, to put it bluntly.
“With the teams split up, you don’t really know who you’re playing with or what the score is,” Kawhi Leonard said. “I’d rather it just be East and West, and just go out there and compete and see what the outcome is. I don’t think a format can make you compete.”
“Yeah, it is what it is at this point,” Minnesota’s Anthony Edwards said with a smirk.
This new concept is debuting in the NBA’s newest arena: Intuit Dome, the futuristic $2 billion basketball shrine opened in 2024 by Los Angeles Clippers owner Steve Ballmer. All-Star Saturday featured Damian Lillard’s third career victory in the 3-Point Contest, followed by Miami’s Keshad Johnson winning the Slam Dunk Contest.
While the players got a welcome weekend in the Southern California sun, the league is optimistic they’ll also provide a more entertaining product on Sunday.
“I’ve had conversations with our guys ... and our guys are coming to play,” said Detroit’s J.B. Bickerstaff, who will coach the younger American team. “They’re going to set a tone. I know that for sure, and I know that the group we have is a group of competitors. So I think the new format is going to help. It’s going to raise the level of competition and put some pride in the game, and then you’ll see the stars that are here being the best of themselves.”
The distinctions on these rosters are more than a bit fungible. The younger Americans’ team is called the “Stars,” and the older players are “Stripes,” but injury dropouts have blurred the lineups.
The World team has a powerhouse lineup with Wembanyama, Luka Doncic and Nikola Jokic — but it also includes Norman Powell, a born-and-raised Californian who plays for Jamaica internationally, and Karl-Anthony Towns, a New Jersey native who represents his mother’s Dominican Republic.
The NBA has repeatedly changed its All-Star format in the past decade while the sport wrestles with declining interest from both television audiences and the players themselves. The NBA ditched the long-standing East vs. West conference battle in 2018 to allow captains to pick their teams for six seasons, only to go back to the East vs. West format for a year before introducing a four-team tournament last year in San Francisco.
That tournament drew decidedly mixed reactions while Stephen Curry won the MVP award in his home arena. The NBA liked the mini-tournament format enough to bring it back for another year but with the added twist of nominally dividing the players by nationality.
With this iteration, the league is hoping that national pride and novelty will lead to entertaining hoops — but injuries have taken a toll even before the ball is tipped.
Curry won’t be playing for only the third time in the past 13 years, while the World team will be without Giannis Antetokounmpo and Shai Gilgeous-Alexander, two former league MVPs. But Leonard will represent the hosts, while Luka Doncic and LeBron James will play despite injury concerns.
James is appearing in his record 21st All-Star Game after being selected for the 22nd time in his unprecedented 23-year career.
The changes could spark excitement, but they’re also a bit confusing to fans who grew up watching the East take on the West each winter. That includes Pistons All-Star guard Cade Cunningham, who doesn’t think he’s really had the true All-Star experience yet.
“I grew up just wanting to be in the All-Star Game, (and) my only two years now, it’s been these different formats,” Cunningham said. “I would like to experience the East versus West. I want to be able to experience what all the greats played in, but I’m just playing the cards I was dealt. I’m sure it will come back eventually.”
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