Seven-time Grand Slam singles champion Venus Williams played her first official match in nearly a year but lost by 1-2 (6:4, 1:6, 4:6) to Canadian qualifier Rebecca Marino in the first round of the WTA 250 Citi Open in Washington.
The 42-year-old American had not played since the tournament in Chicago last August, but she showed a pretty good game and was not far from victory. In the first set, she realized the only break in the seventh game, and her solid service game helped her to win the opening part.
However, Venus Williams was unable to maintain this level in the second set and Rebecca Marino was able to equalize after a 6:1.
In the third set, the American made an early break and led by 3:0. Rebecca Marino returned the break to cut to 3:4, then Williams got another break point in the eighth game, but was unable to convert. This seemed to break her, and in the following ninth game, the Canadian made a second break in a row, which ensured the winning of the match.
The fifth-seeded Elise Mertens also dropped out of the tournament. The Belgian lost by 0-2 (6:7, 4:6) to the Russian Ludmilla Samsonova, despite leading by 5:3 in the first set and having as many as six opportunities to break in the second set, but failed to convert any of them.
The day was more successful for the leader in the scheme and champion from the last edition of the tournament in 2019, Jessica Pegula, who prevailed in an all-American clash over Hailey Baptiste with 2-0 (6:2, 6:2). The 3rd-seeded Simona Halep also got off to a winning start. The Romanian managed to win her match versus Cristina Bucsa by 2-0 (6:3, 7:5) in 81 minutes.
