Venus Williams (45) has officially stunned everyone by defeating Peyton Stearns in her first-round match at the singles event of the 2025 Citi Open. With that win, she became the second-oldest player to win a tour-level singles match, after Martina Navratilova (aged 47) beat Catalina Castano at Wimbledon in 2004. Making a comeback after a 16-month break is never easy, and what made things tougher was her long and silent battle with fibroids. What was her reaction after securing a victory in a singles match after almost a 2-year gap?

“It’s hard to describe how difficult it is to play a first match after so much time off,” she said in her post-match interview. She was extremely happy to start her comeback journey on a winning note, but what gave the seven-time champion the real push, even at this age? “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.” Following that victory, Venus Williams was looking to secure back-to-back wins for the first time since the 2019 Cincinnati Open. However, Poland’s Magdalena Fręch spoiled her plans!

Frech admitted that she became a bit emotional after the match. What did she say? We’ll see that, and other than that, Jannik Sinner has also been in the headlines recently after he decided to bring back Umberto Ferrera to the team. Recently, Giacomo Naldi also opened up on this topic. Other than that, Ben Shelton has also made the headlines recently for an unwanted reason. So, there has been a lot of drama happening in the tennis world at the moment.

Venus Williams’ incredible comeback journey makes her opponent emotional.

Venus Williams had a winning start in both her singles and doubles campaigns at the Citi Open, but despite that strong start, she failed to capitalize on the momentum. Williams committed 14 unforced errors in the opening set, and that’s more than twice as many as Magdalena. However, despite a pretty much ordinary performance in this match, we heard claps and chants of “Venus” whenever she secured a point in this match. 

Reacting to this defeat, Venus Williams said, “Oh, I had so much fun. Not the result I wanted, but still a learning experience. The part about sport (and) life is that you never stop learning.” Playing four matches (including the doubles) in such a short span is never easy. Did this factor play a role in this match against Magdalena Frech? 

“I feel like I ran out of gas today, unfortunately. I tried to find the energy, and I didn’t find it,” said Venus Williams. But what did Frech say after this match, though? Well, the Polish star was in a tricky situation after this match, because she was left in awe of this 45-year-old tennis legend, and couldn’t celebrate her victory much.

Frech said, “She’s a superstar, she’s like a god here, so it was very emotional for me to handle this match. It was a great match and a great honor to play her.” After this win, Frech will next take on Elena Rybakina in the QF, whereas Venus Williams will be preparing herself for the WTA 1000 Cincinnati Open. She has been handed a wildcard to the main draw this time in Cincinnati.

Ben Shelton’s quick apology to a fan after smashing a fiery serve

Ben Shelton is well known in the tennis world for his fiery, powerful, and aggressive style of play. His serve sits right at the top of the list of his lethal weapons. Earlier this year at the Indian Wells, he recorded his fastest serve of the year, clocking 150 mph during his second round match against Mariano Navone. The velocity, combined with his lefty spin, makes his serves even more dangerous for his opponents. However, his opponents aren’t the only ones who are on the radar, though!

Recently, during his R16 match against Gabriel Diallo at the Citi Open, there was a moment when we heard the chair umpire, Jimmy Pinoargote, issuing a warning to the spectators sitting in the front row. He said, “Ladies and gentlemen, if you are sitting in the first row, when the players are serving, please pay attention. The ball is coming fast.” But surprisingly, a few seconds later, Ben Shelton fired an ace down the T, which curved, and the ball bounced off the court and brushed the leg of a woman sitting near the baseline. 

Although the contact was minimal, the spectator was stunned by the velocity of his serve. Seeing this, Ben Shetlon quickly offered an apology to her, saying, “Sorry. Are you okay? My bad.” Later on, he even posted a video clip of the serve on his IG story with the caption, “Scary that almost nailed someone… nastiest serve I hit fr.” Next up for Shelton will be his close friend, Frances Tiafoe. It’ll be interesting to see who wins that all-American duel in the QF.

Giacomo Naldi opens up about Jannik Sinner rehiring Umberto Ferrera.

Jannik Sinner faced a lot of backlash when the news about his doping case came out. Amid all these criticisms, last year, he fired both Giacomo Naldi and Umberto Ferrera, the two fitness coaches who played a role in the Clostebol contamination. With their departure, he brought in Marco Panichi and Ulises Badio. But just before the 2025 Wimbledon, he parted ways with both of them, and as per the latest update, he has brought Ferrera back into the team.

“Umberto has played an important role in Jannik’s development to date, and his return reflects a renewed focus on continuity and performance at the highest level. The decision has been made in alignment with Jannik’s management team as part of ongoing preparations for upcoming tournaments, including the Cincinnati Open and US Open,” Sinner’s team confirmed. Hearing this news, several tennis bigwigs, including Paul McNamee and Nick Kyrgios, raised their eyebrows at this decision, but everyone was waiting for Naldi’s reaction to this.

Previously, in an interview with Gazetta dello Sport, Ferrera claimed that he had communicated to Giacomo Naldi both the nature of the product and the fact that it must not come in contact with Jannik Sinner for any reason. Although Naldi didn’t deny being told about it, he said he didn’t remember. 

Last year, in an interview with La Stampa, Naldi expressed his sadness over the doping saga and said, “I hope, sooner or later, I too can tell what happened to give a general picture. Because, from how this story has been interpreted by the general public, it seems that it was only my fault. But that is not the case, as anyone who has read the verdict knows. I realize that not everyone has made this effort.” What did he say after seeing Umberto Ferrera making a comeback in Sinner’s team, though?

During a recent interview with Repubblica, Naldi yet again expressed his sadness, saying, “Here we go again. Now the nightmare begins again, like last summer. I have no intention of commenting. It’s a story that has made me too sad; it has damaged my image.” Later on, he also added, “When the time is right, we’ll talk about everything calmly. I don’t want to ruin this holiday, too. Right now, I just want to be left alone. I prefer not to comment. Maybe one day I will, but right now it hurts too much.“

Emma Raducanu shares her thoughts after a comfortable victory against Naomi Osaka.

Emma Raducanu seemed to be ‘too hot to handle’ for the four-time major champion Naomi Osaka! The Brit wasted no time to beat Osaka by 6-4,6-2 in their first ever encounter. With this victory, Raducanu will now also reclaim the British number one ranking. Interestingly, before the match, while having a conversation with Ben Rothenberg, Osaka was asked to draw a comparison between herself and Raducanu. Commenting on both the Grand Slam winners, Osaka said, “I won my second slam after I won my first slam.” Was it a subtle dig at the Brit, who is yet to win another major title after her heroics at the 2021 US Open?

We don’t know! But after the match, Raducanu showered praise on the Japanese star, saying, “I thought it was going to be a really difficult match. Naomi’s won four slams, she’s been world number one, and won the Masters. She’s so dangerous, and on the hard courts, I think she’s particularly comfortable. I knew I was going to have to play well and manage my service games, which I’m proud of how I did.” 

Later on, while analyzing her performance, Naomi Osaka admitted that she has been working on her return a lot, but ironically, it was pretty much bad in this match. However, despite this big defeat, she stated that she will yet again get the chance to play against Emma Raducanu shortly.

Alexander Bublik’s opponent wasn’t too pleased with the rain-delay drama.

In-form Alexander Bublik was in action against his compatriot, Alexander Shevchenko, in the QF of the Generali Open. Although Bublik secured a comfortable 6-4,6-2 victory in this match, there were some stop-and-starts in this epic duel. And this is exactly where Shevchenko looked a bit annoyed. He complained to the umpire following a rain delay after Bublik failed to emerge from the locker room.

Bublik got an early lead in this match by securing the first set by 6-4, but then in the second, when the score was 2-1, the match stopped due to rain. Following that, although Shevchenko returned to the court just over 15 minutes after the players headed for shelter, Alexander Bublik was nowhere to be seen. This is what led to a bit more frustration from Shevchenko as he was seen arguing with the umpire before walking off the court once again. After resuming the play, Bublik got a lead of 3-1 in the second set, before yet another interruption came in due to rain. This time, Bublik was seen complaining to the umpire. So, there was plenty of drama in this match, and with this win, Bublik will now face Botic van de Zandschulp in the next round. Do you think he can keep his winning run intact?