STEVE INSKEEP, HOST:
We now know that age 45 is not too old to win a set at a tennis Grand Slam event. Venus Williams did that last night at the U.S. Open. She was the oldest player in the tournament. And although she lost the opening round match, despite winning a set within that match, her return to tennis this summer has been a highlight. NPR's Becky Sullivan reports.
BECKY SULLIVAN, BYLINE: Venus Williams is always quick to remind people she actually never officially retired. But you'd be forgiven for thinking that after she stepped away from the sport for a hiatus that ended up lasting for more than a year.
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VENUS WILLIAMS: This time a year ago, I was preparing to go to surgery. And there was no way for me to play tennis or play the U.S. Open, or those things weren't even on my mind. I was just trying to get healthy.
SULLIVAN: Williams, of course, was a huge star in her prime - world No. 1, a seven-time Grand Slam singles winner, an Olympic gold medalist, a global phenomenon - alongside her sister, Serena, from the 1990s on. But last month, she revealed that for all those years, she had been dogged by medical issues, specifically debilitating pain, nausea and excessive bleeding during her periods, all caused by uterine fibroids. That hiatus last year, it turns out, was to have major surgery to remove them. She says she was warned she might bleed to death on the operating table. Playing tennis again was certainly no guarantee.
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WILLIAMS: After my surgery, I couldn't even stand up straight. I was, like, walking like this (laughter) so - and walking slow. And there's definitely a progression. So at that point, I was thinking just about recovering for my health. But I think tennis is always in the back of my head.
SULLIVAN: She began to train again in earnest a few months ago, and her comeback officially began in July with a win at the Citi D.C. Open. The years do show her serve has lost some zip. Her movements aren't as crisp. But last night at Arthur Ashe Stadium, playing against the U.S. Open 11 seed Karolina Muchova, Williams was genuinely competitive, especially in a dominant second set, which she won and stunned the crowd and ESPN announcers Patrick McEnroe and Chris Evert with a ripping midair forehand.
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PATRICK MCENROE: That reminded me of Venus Williams like a teenager.
CHRIS EVERT: Yeah.
MCENROE: That was awesome.
EVERT: Yeah. I couldn't have done that at 45.
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SULLIVAN: After her loss, Williams was coy about her future. Crisscrossing the world on tour doesn't have the same appeal it did when she was young. Her goal this summer was something simpler, she said, in an emotional press conference.
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WILLIAMS: I think for me, getting back on the court was about giving myself a chance to play more healthy. When you play unhealthy, it's in your mind. It's not just how you feel. You get stuck in your mind, too. So it was nice to be freer.
SULLIVAN: And true to form for Venus Williams, she also did not commit to retirement.
Becky Sullivan, NPR News. Transcript provided by NPR, Copyright NPR.
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