Venus Williams wins a doubles match at Washington in her first tournament in more than a year

WASHINGTON (AP) — Competing at a tournament for the first time in more than a year, and in doubles for the first time in nearly three, Venus Williams hit a big serve on her initial delivery at the DC Open on Monday and, curiously, it was wiped out by a foot-fault call.

The 45-year-old Williams, an owner of 21 Grand Slam titles across singles and doubles, smiled incredulously, as did the other three players involved in the match in front of a full crowd that eventually included NBA star Kevin Durant. And then Williams carried on, displaying her trademark power on some strokes while teaming with Hailey Baptiste for a 6-3, 6-1 victory against 2014 Wimbledon runner-up Eugenie Bouchard and Clervie Ngounoue.

“It’s just nice to be able to play. Where I am at this year is so much different where I was at last year. It’s night and day, being able to be here and prepare for the tournament as opposed to preparing for surgery a year ago,” said Williams, who spoke in an interview with NBC earlier this month about having a procedure to remove fibroids from her uterus. “At the end of the day, it doesn’t really matter if your health is not there. So it definitely put it in perspective for me and maybe made it easier to make the decision to maybe come back out here and maybe play even freer.”

Her most recent match had been at the Miami Open in March 2024, and she said Sunday she had two goals in Washington: to have fun and to win.

She did both — winning, yes, and contributing plenty to the cause, but also having a good time, high-fiving or fist-bumping Baptiste after some of their best points, laughing after others and waving to an appreciative group of fans that roared over and over for Williams. She and Baptiste hugged when it ended.

“The crowd was insane. From the moment we stepped out of the players area, you could kind of feel the buzz. Walking onto the court, just felt all the love for the both of us,” said Baptiste, a 23-year-old from Washington. “I was obviously very nervous to play with her. I didn’t want to let her down, first match back and everything."

It was full at 3,000-seat John Harris Court, where Durant showed up late in the first set, while across the way at the 7,500-capacity main stadium, only a few dozen spectators were scattered in the stands for an all-American singles match in which Reilly Opelka defeated Murphy Cassone.

Asked to comment about the court assignments, tournament director Daniel Vallverdú said: “The tournament works to balance full singles and doubles ATP and WTA schedules, while coordinating with broadcaster requests for court assignments.”

When Williams, wearing a white visor as she so often has, was introduced before participating in doubles for the first time since the 2022 U.S. Open — when her partner was younger sister Serena — the stadium announcer mentioned that Venus has “one of the best serves in the history of the game,” that she “turned pro in the last century” and “has won everything.”

That includes seven major singles trophies — five at Wimbledon, two at the U.S. Open — and an additional 14 in doubles with Serena, plus four Olympic gold medals.

“She’s 14 years older than me and still plugging away,” said Bouchard, 31, a former top-five player who announced that next week's tournament in Montreal will be the last of her career. “I have nothing but respect for her. She’s such a legend. That was a pretty cool crowd for a doubles match.”

They sure were into it Monday, standing with phone cameras raised high when Venus first appeared at the court — and again when it ended.

There will be other opportunities to see her this week: In singles, Williams was scheduled to play Tuesday night against Peyton Stearns, a 23-year-old American currently ranked No. 35 who won NCAA singles and team championships at the University of Texas.

“I have been training for months to get to this moment,” Williams said.

AP tennis: https://apnews.com/hub/tennis

Venus Williams, left, talks with Hailey Baptiste, right, during a doubles match against Eugenie Bouchard and Clervie Ngounoue at the Citi Open tennis tournament Monday, July 21, 2025, in Washington. (AP Photo/Nick Wass)

Venus Williams hits a ball toward the crowd after a doubles match with Hailey Baptiste against Eugenie Bouchard and Clervie Ngounoue at the Citi Open tennis tournament Monday, July 21, 2025, in Washington. (AP Photo/Nick Wass)

Hailey Baptiste, top left, and Venus Williams top right, compete during a doubles match against Eugenie Bouchard, bottom right, and Clervie Ngounoue, bottom left, at the Citi Open tennis tournament Monday, July 21, 2025, in Washington. (AP Photo/Nick Wass)

Venus Williams reaches for the ball during a doubles match with Hailey Baptiste against Eugenie Bouchard and Clervie Ngounoue at the Citi Open tennis tournament Monday, July 21, 2025, in Washington. (AP Photo/Nick Wass)

Venus Williams, right, hugs her doubles partner Hailey Baptiste, left, after they defeated Eugenie Bouchard and Clervie Ngounoue in a doubles match at the Citi Open tennis tournament Monday, July 21, 2025, in Washington. (AP Photo/Nick Wass)

Venus Williams, right, hugs her doubles partner Hailey Baptiste, left, after they defeated Eugenie Bouchard and Clervie Ngounoue in a doubles match at the Citi Open tennis tournament Monday, July 21, 2025, in Washington. (AP Photo/Nick Wass)

Glenn Hall, a Hockey Hall of Famer whose ironman streak of 502 starts as a goaltender remains an NHL record, has died. He was 94.

Nicknamed “Mr. Goalie,” Hall worked to stop pucks at a time when players at his position were bare-faced, before masks of any kind became commonplace. He did it as well as just about anyone of his generation, which stretched from the days of the Original Six into the expansion era.

A spokesperson for the Chicago Blackhawks confirmed the team received word of Hall’s death from his family. A league historian in touch with Hall’s son, Pat, said Hall died at a hospital in Stony Plain, Alberta, on Wednesday.

A pioneer of the butterfly style of goaltending of dropping to his knees, Hall backstopped Chicago to the Stanley Cup in 1961. He won the Conn Smythe Trophy as most valuable player of the playoffs in 1968 with St. Louis when the Blues reached the final before losing to Montreal. He was the second of just six Conn Smythe winners from a team that did not hoist the Cup.

His run of more than 500 games in net is one of the most untouchable records in sports, given how the position has changed in the decades since. Second in history is Alec Connell with 257 from 1924-30.

“Glenn was sturdy, dependable and a spectacular talent in net,” Commissioner Gary Bettman said. “That record, set from 1955-56 to 1962-63, still stands, probably always will, and is almost unfathomable — especially when you consider he did it all without a mask.”

Counting the postseason, Hall started 552 games in a row.

Hall won the Calder Trophy as rookie of the year in 1956 when playing for the Detroit Red Wings. After two seasons, he was sent to the Black Hawks along with legendary forward Ted Lindsay.

Hall earned two of his three Vezina Trophy honors as the league's top goalie with Chicago, in 1963 and '67. The Blues took him in the expansion draft when the NHL doubled from six teams to 12, and he helped them reach the final in each of their first three years of existence, while winning the Vezina again at age 37.

Hall was in net when Boston's Bobby Orr scored in overtime to win the Cup for the Bruins in 1970, a goal that's among the most famous in hockey history because of the flying through the air celebration that followed. He played one more season with St. Louis before retiring in 1971.

“His influence extended far beyond the crease," Blues chairman Tom Stillman said. “From the very beginning, he brought credibility, excellence, and heart to a new team and a new NHL market.”

A native of Humboldt, Saskatchewan, Hall was a seven-time first-team NHL All-Star who had 407 wins and 84 shutouts in 906 regular-season games. He was inducted into the Hall of Fame in 1975, and his No. 1 was retired by Chicago in 1988.

Hall was chosen as one of the top 100 players in the league's first 100 years.

Blackhawks chairman and CEO Danny Wirtz called Hall an innovator and “one of the greatest and most influential goaltenders in the history of our sport and a cornerstone of our franchise.”

“We are grateful for his extraordinary contributions to hockey and to our club, and we will honor his memory today and always,” Wirtz said.

The Blackhawks paid tribute to Hall and former coach and general manager Bob Pulford with a moment of silence before Wednesday night’s game against St. Louis. Pulford died Monday.

A Hall highlight video was shown on the center-ice videoboard. The lights were turned off for the moment of silence, except for a spotlight on the No. 1 banner for Hall that hangs in the rafters at the United Center.

Fellow Hall of Famer Martin Brodeur, the league's leader in wins with 691 and games played with 1,266, posted a photo of the last time he saw Hall along with a remembrance of him.

“Glenn Hall was a legend, and I was a big fan of his,” Brodeur said on social media. “He set the standard for every goaltender who followed. His toughness and consistency defined what it meant to play.”

AP Sports Writer Jay Cohen in Chicago contributed to this report.

AP NHL: https://apnews.com/hub/nhl

FILE - Glenn Hall, second from left, stands with fellow former Chicago Blackhawks players Stan Mikita, former general manager Tommy Ivan, Bobby Hull, Bill Wirtz and Tony Esposito during a pre-game ceremony at the Chicago Stadium in Chicago, Ill., April 14, 1994. (AP Photo/Fred Jewell, File)

FILE - St. Louis Blues goalie Glenn Hall, top right, is pinned to his net waiting to make a save on a Montreal Canadians shot as Blues' Noel Picard (4) tries to block the puck while Canadiens' John Ferguson (22) and Ralph Backstorm wait for a rebound in the third period of their NHL hockey Stanley Cup game, May 5, 1968. (AP Photo/Fred Waters, File)