Tennis
ESPN News Services 32d

Venus Williams, Hailey Baptiste lose in doubles at DC Open

WTA, Tennis

Venus Williams' run in doubles with partner Hailey Baptiste at the DC Open ended in the second round Wednesday with a 6-4, 3-6, 10-6 loss in a champion's tiebreaker to second-seeded Taylor Townsend and Zhang Shuai.

The 45-year-old Williams is competing at her first tournament in more than a year -- and first in doubles since 2022 -- and she and Baptiste won their first-round match on Monday.

Williams will play her second-round singles match Thursday against Magdalena Frech.

On Tuesday, Williams became the second-oldest woman to win a tour-level singles match, beating Peyton Stearns -- who is 23 -- in straight sets, 6-3, 6-4.

On the heels of that victory -- her first in nearly two years -- Williams was awarded a wild-card entry on Wednesday for next month's Cincinnati Open.

In other DC Open women's singles play Wednesday, second-seeded Emma Navarro was eliminated by Maria Sakkari 7-5, 7-6 (1) in the night session. 

Sakkari was the 2023 runner-up to Coco Gauff in Washington.

Also, unseeded Anna Kalinskaya eliminated No. 8 seed Magda Linette 6-4, 6-0.

The Associated Press contributed to this report. 

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