Venus Williams returns to tour after 16 months at DC Open

Washington DC, July 20 (IANS) Venus Williams will contest in her first tour in 16 months as the former world no.1 has been named in the DC Open draw.

Williams will have her first meeting with fellow American Peyton Stearns in the first round. This is Williams' second appearance at the D.C. event, following a first-round loss in 2022.

She will also features in the women's doubles with her partner Hailey Baptiste.

The 45-year-old Williams, who has won seven Grand Slam singles titles, last contested a draw at Miami in March of 2024.

The North American summer hard-court season is officially underway, as the main draw for the WTA 500 Mubadala DC Open was released Saturday.

There will be 28 women vying for this year's Washington title, including five Grand Slam singles champions. The top four seeds receive first-round byes.

World No. 4 Jessica Pegula leads the field as the No. 1 seed. Pegula won her first career WTA singles title right here in Washington, six years ago in 2019.

The other side of this quarter features an all-American first round clash between Baptiste and 2020 Australian Open champion Sofia Kenin. No. 6 seed Kenin won their only previous meeting, at 2021 Roland Garros

Williams has been slotted on the second quarter which features No. 3 seed Elena Rybakina, the 2022 Wimbledon champion. After her first-round bye, she will face either rapidly rising Canadian teenager Victoria Mboko or Anastasia Potapova.

Clara Tauson of Denmark is the No. 4 seed and received the first-round bye in the fourth quarter. Tauson is enjoying her first week as a Top 20 player following her second-week run at Wimbledon.

At the other end of this quarter, former Top 10 player Danielle Collins of the United States will take on No. 8 seed Magda Linette of Poland in the first round. Collins leads their head-to-head 1-0, with a win in 2018.

Another American, Emma Navarro, anchors the draw as the No. 2 seed in the last quarter. After her first-round bye, she will meet either 2023 Washington finalist Maria Sakkari or Katie Boulter.

This quarter also features two major champions. First, 2021 US Open champion Emma Raducanu meets No. 7 seed Marta Kostyuk in the opening round. Kostyuk leads their head-to-head 2-1, including a win on clay at Madrid this year.

Next, four-time Grand Slam champion Naomi Osaka faces Yulia Putintseva in her opener. Osaka and Putintseva have a deadlocked 3-3 head-to-head overall, but Osaka has won their last three matches, including two meetings last year.

--IANS

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