Published on, Aug. 27 -- August 27, 2025 7:07 AM

Venus Williams, returning to the Grand Slam singles stage for the first time since 2023, competed well but fell short on Monday in the first round of the US Open in New York.

The 45-year-old star lost 6-3, 2-6, 6-1 to 11th-seeded Karolina Muchova of the Czech Republic in exactly two hours.

Williams, a seven-time major singles champion, became the oldest singles player at the US Open since Renee Richards, then 47, lost in the first round of women's singles in 1981.

After Muchova took the first set, Williams broke serve to start the second set, then added another break for 5-2 before leveling the match.

However, Muchova, 29, won the first three games of the third set, during which she ne...