Williams hits some of her familiar big serves and groundstrokes while beating Peyton Stearns, 23, to become the oldest woman to win a tour-level singles match since Martina Navratilova did it at

Venus Williams wanted to send a message to herself and to others about coming back from a long layoff, about competing in a sport at age 45, about never giving up. And she did just that, becoming the second-oldest woman to win a tour-level singles match in professional tennis.

Venus Williams returned to tour-level tennis on Tuesday, defeating Peyton Stearns 6-3, 6-4 at the DC Open and winning her first match in nearly two years.