Cincinnati – Venus Williams, who returned to tennis last month after more than a year left sports, lost to Spain 6-4, 6-4 Jessica Bouza Maneiro on Thursday in the first round of the Cincinnati Open.
The next seven-time Grand Slam singles champion received a wildcard entry with Riley Opelka to play mixed doubles from August 19th.
“It’s amazing to be out of this game,” Williams said. “So there’s no need to fix your injuries this next period (before the US opening). Now I can work on power and speed, rather than trying to avoid hurting entering the tournament.”
No. 51 Bouza Maneiro, not born when Williams won his first four Grand Slam titles, advanced to his first WTA 1000 quarterfinal match in Montreal last week.
“She’s a legend,” Booza Maneiro said. “It was a privilege. I did my best on the court and enjoyed every moment. It’s an honor to play against her. She’s the inspiration for a young player.”
With the crowd at her side, Williams pushed the 22-year-old Spaniard, but struggled with her service game.
“She played very well,” Williams said. “She obviously has a big future ahead of her. I was trying to get things straight as quickly as possible, but I just ran out of time.
Excluded for a year from uterine surgery, Williams became the oldest woman to win a WTA match in more than 20 years, beating Payton Stearns at the DC Open last month. It was her first tournament in 16 months and her first victory since the 2023 Cincinnati Open.
“I think there were moments when I was working through the Kinks, but I don’t think there was a moment when I didn’t go for it,” Williams said. “I definitely see a lot of positive things today. I think I’ll just come back. Not everything is perfect, but there are a lot of great things today.”
Williams made his 11th appearance at the Cincinnati Open, arriving in the semi-finals in 2012 and reaching the quarter-finals in 2019.
“I had so much fun,” Williams said. “There were moments where I had a lot of opportunities, and there were moments when I was working through the twist, but there were no moments when I didn’t go for it.”
ESPN’s D’Arcy Maine and the Associated Press contributed to this report.