Venus Williams returns the ball against Peyton Stearns during a match at the Citi Open tennis tournament in Washington. (AP)

WASHINGTON, July 23, (AP): Venus Williams wanted to send a message - to herself and others - about coming back from a long layoff, about competing in a sport at age 45, about never giving up. Yes, there was something special about just being back on a tennis court.

There was also this: She wanted to win.

And Williams did just that, becoming the second-oldest woman to win a tour-level singles match in professional tennis, delivering some of her familiar big serves and groundstrokes at age 45 while beating Peyton Stearns - 22 years her junior - by a 6-3, 6-4 score at the DC Open.

The only older woman to win a tour-level singles match was Martina Navratilova, whose last triumph came at 47 in 2004.

The former No. 1-ranked Williams had not played singles in an official match since March 2024 in Miami, missing time while having surgery to remove uterine fibroids. She hadn’t won in singles since August 2023 in Cincinnati. Until this week, she was listed by the WTA Tour as “inactive.”

“I’m just constantly praying for good health, so that I could have an opportunity to play with good health,” Williams said. “A lot of this for me is being able to come back and try to play at a level (and) to play healthy.”

Backed by a crowd that was there to see, and support, her at the hard-court tournament in the nation’s capital, Williams showed glimpses of the talent she possesses and the skills she displayed while earning all of her Grand Slam titles: seven in singles, 14 in women’s doubles - all alongside younger sister Serena - and two in mixed doubles.

In Tuesday’s second game, Williams smacked a return winner to get things started, then delivered a couple of other big responses to break Stearns, a 23-year-old who won singles and team NCAA titles at the University of Texas and is currently ranked 35th.