Martina Navratilova has doffed her hat to Venus Williams after the seven-time Grand Slam winner silenced those who questioned her return to action at the Washington DC Open.

Organisers of the WTA 500 tournament came in for some criticism for awarding the tennis great a wildcard for the event following her extended spell on the sidelines, but the 45-year-old repaid their faith.

Williams – whose last match before the Citi DC Open was in March 2024 – made an “unbelievable” return to top-level action as she first teamed up with Hailey Baptside in the women’s doubles on Monday to defeat Eugenie Bouchard and Clervie Ngounoue.

A day later, she made her singles comeback and this time she upset world no 35 Peyton Stearns 6-3, 6-4 in one hour and 37 minutes as she recorded her first WTA win since

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