Venus Williams vs Peyton Stearns

WTA Washington 1st Round Preview: Venus Williams vs Peyton Stearns

🧠 Form & Context

Venus Williams
🌅 Living legend: The 45-year-old continues her farewell tour, having accepted a wildcard into both singles and doubles in Washington.
🧱 Minimal activity: Hasn’t won a singles match since August 2023. This is just her third match of 2025.
📉 Hard court struggles: 0–2 this year and just 4–14 on hard courts since 2021.
🎾 Recent win: Picked up a doubles victory with Hailey Baptiste, her first W of any kind in 11 months.
📍 D.C. record: Only her second career singles appearance here. Lost in R1 in 2022 to Rebecca Marino.

Peyton Stearns
🎢 Hot-and-cold 2025: 17–15 W-L with major peaks in Madrid (R4) and Rome (SF), but first-round exits at both Roland Garros and Wimbledon.
🧠 Giant-killer instincts: Defeated Osaka, Keys, and Svitolina in Rome. Has a strong record in three-setters this season.
⚡ Aggressive baseliner: Heavy-hitting and fearless when on form. Mentally resilient in tiebreaks.
📍 D.C. comfort: Making her third straight appearance in Washington (R2 in both 2023 & 2024).

🔍 Match Breakdown

This is a matchup between a generational icon and a rising power-hitter who thrives on rhythm and intensity. Venus may still own one of the cleanest backhands in tennis, but her footwork, stamina, and timing are no longer WTA-level over sustained sets.

Stearns will look to dominate rallies with her heavy topspin forehand and take advantage of Venus' slow movement. Expect her to push wide on the serve and pull Venus off court early and often. If she keeps her error count low, this will be one-way traffic.

Venus could keep things respectable if her first serve percentage is high and she finds patches of clean hitting. But sustaining that across two sets against a top-40 opponent is highly unlikely in her current form.

🔮 Prediction

Prediction: Stearns in 2 sets. Venus might earn a moment or two—but that’s likely all.