Venus Williams taking cake upon returning to Indian Wells

At the time, expectations were high about whether Venus Williams would be able to return to the slopes at age 43. American receives invitation to compete at WTA 1,000 in Indian Wells For the first time since 2019, when they were quarterfinalists. He had a friendly opponent, the Japanese Nao Hibino, 29 years old and 80 years old, and although he started well, he had to concede defeat in the end. included with donut In the third set: 2-6, 6-3 and 6-0 in 2:01.

She had not played since the US Open last year, a knee injury had plagued her this season and it was clear she was not ready to compete at the highest level. At best, the eldest Williams fell before losing the last nine games of the match and, therefore, lost the match itself. Nao, who is yet to win at the BNP Paribas Open, will face 17th favorite Russian Veronika Kudermetova this Friday.

nothing to do with what happened Naomi Osaka, who, like her compatriot Hibino, reached the second round with a stunning win (6-3 and 6-1 in 69 minutes) against Italian veteran Sara Errani. (36 years). The Japanese player, the unseeded champion in 2018, showed that she still knows how to play well on hard courts, the surface on which she has won seven of her titles. Before temporarily leaving tennis to become a mother. Osaka won ten of the last 11 matches of the clash, On Saturday, she will face 14th seeded dangerous Russian Lyudmila Samsonova.