Venus Williams has reflected on the wonderful career she has enjoyed ahead of her return to tennis at the Washington Open this week.
It marks her first match back in over a year, with her last coming in 2024, in Miami.
There, she suffered a first-round exit, and will do well to avoid that again against Peyton Stearns on Tuesday.
But, for Venus, this portion of her career is not about winning. Quite clearly, she only remains present in tennis because of her love for the game.
The 45-year-old obviously takes so much pride in what she has accomplished across the last two decades, but one thing seemingly surpasses even that: the impact she has had on the next generation.
Venus Williams reflects on the legacy she has left in tennis
Speaking in her press conference ahead of the tournament this week, she was asked how it felt to have inspired the likes of Taylor Townsend and Hailey Baptiste, to name just a couple.
Naturally, she took great pride, as Williams noted: “It’s incredible actually. That was not something that I thought would happen in my life.
“As a young person, I wanted to play the game, be a champion. I love the game so much. I didn’t realise that it would be so much bigger than myself, and seeing these young women doing positive things with their lives, winning tournaments, inspiring the next generation too.
“It’s like I could have never imagined that. So it’s like icing on the cake, cherries on top with the nuts and all the fixings you know, it’s beautiful.”
This came just after Venus Williams explained her reasons for returning to tennis at this specific event.
How many Grand Slam titles did Venus Williams win?
At the age of 45, it’s expected that Venus’ days of challenging for Grand Slam titles are well behind her.
However, given all she has won across her illustrious career, it’s unlikely that she will be too bothered.
Across singles and doubles, she amassed a mouth-watering 23 major titles, seven of which came in the former discipline.
There, she claimed five at Wimbledon and a further two at the US Open, with her second in New York coming against Serena Williams, her sister, in the final.
The sisters often united on the doubles stage to dominate too, winning 14 more Grand Slams by her side, with at least two at all four of the events.
Venus even snagged a couple of mixed doubles Grand Slams too, just to cap off a magical career of limitless silverware.
It’s no surprise that her legacy remains as strong today as it did decades ago.
