A first-round loss by Venus Williams’ Tuesday in Australia carried noteworthiness beyond its outcome, as the match set a WTA age record.
Williams, 45, fell 6-4, 6-3 to Germany’s Tatjana Maria, 38, in the first round of the Hobart International, a leadup event to the Australian Open. With a combined age of 84 years and one day, the match marked the oldest combined age for a main-draw contest in WTA history.
The match also drew praise from her opponent for the rare opportunity to face the seven-time Grand Slam champion
“Everybody loves Venus — I love her too!” Maria said afterwards, via Alex Valdes of The Athletic. “For me, to play her was such an honor because I never played her before. It was not easy with all the wind but it was amazing.”
Williams, currently ranked 576th in the world, entered Hobart with a wild card and was competing less than a week before her scheduled appearance at the Australian Open. She broke Maria’s serve in the opening set but dropped her own serve twice, allowing the sixth-seeded Maria, ranked 42nd, to take control. One service break in the second set proved enough to close out the match, which lasted nearly 1½ hours.
The loss followed another first-round exit last week in Auckland. Despite recent early defeats, Williams continues to extend a career that began in 1994 and includes seven Grand Slam singles titles, five Wimbledon crowns, two U.S. Open victories and an Olympic gold medal.
She reached the Australian Open final in 2003 and 2017, both losses to her sister Serena Williams. When Williams returns to Melbourne Park, she will become the oldest player to compete at the tournament, surpassing the mark set by Kimiko Date, according to the the Associated Press.
Maria’s career highlights include a Wimbledon semifinal run in 2022 and a title at the WTA 500 event at Queen’s Club last summer.
In another Hobart first-round result, two-time major winner Barbora Krejčíková lost to Peyton Stearns.
