Venus Williams surprised the tennis world a few months ago, when she signed on to do commentary and interviews at Roland Garros. Venus has never officially retired, but many people assumed that “taking a commentary/interview position with TNT” was the first step towards her retirement soft-launch. Then Venus shocked the tennis world again after Wimbledon – she asked for and received a wild card into the Citi Open, the WTA/ATP 500 tournament in DC this week. She played a doubles match on Monday (she and her partner won) and the stands were PACKED. Then she got the showcase night match for her singles match on Tuesday, her first match since March 2024. The stands were once again packed. Venus, who is 45 years old, beat 23-year-old Peyton Stearns in straight sets, with multiple breaks. She looked so good! After the match, her friend Rennae Stubbs interviewed her on court and Venus also confirmed her engagement:

Venus Williams is engaged to actor-producer Andrea Preti. The tennis star, 45, confirmed that she is engaged to the 37-year-old former model after her first singles match in over a year on Tuesday, July 22.

In a post-match interview, Rennae Stubbs asked, “You are now an engaged woman. So, how has Andrea helped you in this comeback? You’re happy, a smile on your face. I mean, how much has he made a difference in your life?”

“My fiancé is here and he really encouraged me to keep playing,” Williams replied. “There were so many times where I just wanted to coast and kind of chill. Do you know how hard it is to play tennis? You guys don’t know how much work goes into this, like it’s 9 to 5 except you’re running the whole time. Lifting weights and just like dying and then you repeat it the next day. So he encouraged me to get through this and it’s wonderful to be here. He’s never seen me play.”

While the couple has kept their romance private, Williams and Preti, whose acting credits include the Italian television series A Professor and the film One More Day, were first linked together on July 27, 2024, when they were seen boating in Nerano, Italy, along the Amalfi Coast.

[From People]

I’m including Venus’s on-court interview below – not only did she confirm her engagement (amazing) and talk about her fiance, but she also said that she’s launching a comeback to stay on her health insurance! Imagine being a 45-year-old legend of the sport and launching a comeback at 45 to stay up to date on your insurance. WILD! Anyway, Venus looked so good in her match. I wonder if she’ll get wild cards into Cincinnati and the US Open.

It's like she never left 😮‍💨@Venuseswilliams defeats Stearns 6-3, 6-4 to reach the second round in the United States capital.#MubadalaCitiDCOpen pic.twitter.com/r38pH63jCt

— wta (@WTA) July 23, 2025

Photos courtesy of Avalon Red, screengrab from the Tennis Channel.