Venus Williams loses golden oldie clash in final Australian Open warmup
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Venus Williams of the US in action against Tatjana Maria of Germany during the Hobart International tennis tournament.
PHOTO: EPA
HOBART – Venus Williams was dumped out of the Hobart International in straight sets by Tatjana Maria on Jan 13 to dent her Australian Open preparations in a historic clash between two players with a combined age of 83.
It was the second consecutive tournament where the 45-year-old Williams had crashed out at the first hurdle after last week’s Auckland Classic.
She survived 87 minutes in Hobart against German world No. 42 Maria, who is 38, before slumping 6-4, 6-3, having gamely saved six of nine break points.
The first meeting between the pair set a record for the highest combined age for a main-draw match since the WTA Tour was founded in 1973.
Maria said her daughters Charlotte, 12, and Cecilia, four, were probably cheering for Williams, one of their favourite players.
“Everybody loves Venus. I love her too,” she said.
“My daughters are a fan of Venus, so it was tough. They said they are for me but... Charlotte was so happy. The first reaction was ‘oh my god, that’s so amazing, I’m going to see Venus against you’. She was super happy.
“For me, to play her was such an honour because I never played her before. It was not easy with all the wind but it was amazing.”
In June 2025, Maria became the oldest WTA Tour singles winner since Serena Williams in 2020 when she won at Queen’s Club in London.
She moves on to a last-16 encounter against Hungary’s world No. 75 Anna Bondar.
Williams, a seven-time Grand Slam champion, will now head to Melbourne for the Australian Open, where she has been handed a wild card five years after she last played there.
The American, who has played only sporadically in recent years, will be the oldest woman ever at the opening Grand Slam of the year, which begins on Jan 18.
Two-time Grand Slam winner Barbora Krejcikova also lost in the first round, needing treatment and strapping on her knee before tumbling out 6-4, 1-6, 7-6 (7-4) to American Peyton Stearns.
The Czech former world No. 2, now ranked 55th, ended her season early in 2025 because of a knee injury, but successfully got through three matches at the United Cup last week, picking up two wins.
Krejcikova, who won the French Open in 2021 and Wimbledon in 2024, missed the 2025 Australian Open with a back injury.
Stearns will meet Olga Danilovic next after the unseeded Serb beat American defending champion McCartney Kessler in three sets. AFP
