Women's tennis 'war veteran' Williams wins a top 20 player in 4 years

2nd round of the Cincinnati Open...Defeat 43-year-old oldest active player at 26

Venus Williams (533rd, USA), who continues her challenge at the age of 43, won the first round of the Women's Tennis Association (WTA) Tour Cincinnati Open (total prize money of $2,788,468) after four years.

Williams defeated 16th-ranked Veronica Kudermetova of Russia 2-0 (6-4 7-5) in the first round of singles (round of 64) on the first day of the tournament in Cincinnati, Ohio.

It is the first time in four years that Williams has won the top 20 player since beating Kiki Bertens (the Netherlands), who was then fifth in the round of 16 at the 2019 tournament.

In addition, Williams won the tournament in the United States for the first time in three years.

Williams, who commanded the women's tennis world with her younger brother Serena, has been on the court even after her younger brother retired last year.

Kudermetova is 26 years old, the nephew of Williams. 스포츠토토

Williams is not doing well. As the oldest active WTA player, he was eliminated from all five competitions he played this year.

However, he continues his challenge with a smile.

Williams said after the game, "I like tennis," adding, "I've been struggling with injuries for the past few years, but it's better to come to the tournament." I can feel it getting stronger," he said with a big smile.

Williams' next opponent is the winner of the match between Chung Chin-won (24th, China) and Alexandra Sasnovich (74th, Belarus). If he wins here, he will reach the third round for the first time this year.

Meanwhile, this year's Wimbledon semifinalist Elina Svitolina (26th, Ukraine) withdrew ahead of the first round with Caroline Bozniacki (632nd, Denmark) due to foot pain that continued after Wimbledon.

Svitolina said on social media, "I'm disappointed, but I decided to follow the doctor's advice," adding, "I'll do my best to recover in time for the US Open."