She's back — again. Venus Williams, who returned to professional tennis at the Mubadala DC Open a year ago, is in the draw once more in Washington, competing in both singles and doubles.
The 46-year-old American legend and Diana Shnaider, the 22-year-old Russian ranked fourth in the tournament's singles draw, beat Ulrikke Eikeri and Quinn Gleason 6-3, 6-4 in their opening women's doubles match Monday. On Tuesday, Williams plays singles against Anastasia Potapova, scheduled not before 7:30 p.m. ET.
The doubles partnership was a last-minute development. Williams had originally been set to play alongside Philippine rising star Alex Eala, but Eala withdrew from the doubles just before the tournament — her first week on the late-summer hard-court swing following a run to the Round of 16 at Wimbledon.
"Venus is someone who deserves a partner who can give their all physically, emotionally, mentally when they're on court with her," Eala said Sunday. "I don't have the capacity yet to be able to give that in both singles and doubles."
Shnaider - ranked 18th in the world in singles - stepped in as a last-minute replacement, arranged by tournament director Mark Ein. The partnership worked immediately. They won 64% of their second serve points and 4 of 10 break points. "Our energy matched," Williams said, "and we'd love to just keep going."
Williams could enter the women's doubles top 100 rankings if she and Shnaider keep winning — a notable milestone for a player who has spent much of the last two years piecing together a comeback at 46.
"Even when I was No. 1, I never watched the rankings, but it's nice," Williams said Monday. "I had no idea that that was going to happen. But if we keep winning, it could go better. One point at a time."
Something bigger might be brewing in the future. Ahead of the tournament, Williams said she would love to play doubles with her sister Serena at the US Open next month, which would mark the 25th anniversary of the two facing each other in the 2001 US Open women's final — one of the most iconic matches in the tournament's history. "We would love to," Williams said. "So we'll see what happens."
As for how long she intends to keep competing, Williams was characteristically open-ended — and characteristically Venus.
"I think in tennis you're learning something about yourself every day," she said Monday. "It just doesn't end. It's such a beautiful and sometimes painful discovery, and I look forward to every day of it."