Venus Williams Out of 2025 US Open After Round 1 Loss to Karolina Muchova in 3 Sets

Venus Williams made an impressive return to tennis this year and managed to make her way to the US Open, but she came up short in the first round.

Williams lost to No. 11 Karolína Muchová, 6-3, 6-2, 6-1, on Monday.

Williams dropped the first two games of the first set but battled back to even things up.

Williams took a 3-2 lead before Muchová came back to take the first set, but Williams responded by winning the second set.

Muchová jumped out to an early lead in the final set, and Williams was unable to mount the comeback.

Williams, 45, is a two-time champion at the US Open but hasn't won since 2001 when she claimed back-to-back titles. She entered this year's US Open as the oldest player to compete in the singles bracket since Renee Richards, who competed at the age of 47 in 1981.

Her last appearance at the US Open came in 2023, when she lost to Greet Minnen in the first round.

Williams had an injury-riddled 2023 season and missed the entirety of the 2024 season following a procedure to address uterine fibroids. She's spent the past year and a half trying to make her way back to the court, and finally did so when she appeared in the Citi Open in Washington, D.C., in July as a wild card entry.

She had a decent run at the Citi Open, beating No. 35 Peyton Stearns before losing to Magdalena Fręch in the Round of 16. Williams also appeared in the Cincinnati Open in August, losing to Jessica Bouzas Maneiro in the first round.

Williams participated in mixed doubles at the US Open last week, where she and Reilly Opelka lost in the first round.

While Williams' time at the US Open was short, it was clear she's still more than capable of competing at the highest level, battling with one of the best players in the tournament.

Now, she'll look to continue working her way back to the top, perhaps by getting more reps in tournaments this fall.