After defying the adage of age in the DC Open, Venus Williams was eliminated in the second round of the doubles tournament

Second-seeded Taylor Townsend and Zhang Shuai faced off against Venus Williams and Hailey Baptiste in the women’s doubles quarterfinals of the 2025 Citi DC Open.

Kevin Durant attended Venus Williams and Hailey Baptiste's doubles match at the 2025 Mubadala Citi DC Open. On Monday afternoon, Venus Williams played her first professional tennis match in over a year. Williams teamed up with Hailey Baptiste in doubles at the 2025 Mubadala Citi DC Open.

Playing against No. 2 seeds Taylor Townsend and Zhang Shuai, the American duo made it a tight contest but ultimately fell just short 4-6 6-3 6-10 to the second-seeded pair. In the first set, Williams and Baptiste recovered from an early break down - but lost their serve again - and that turned out to be costly in the opener.

The seven-time Grand Slam singles champion had not played a WTA Tour match since March of 2024 and had not won one since 2023.

American young star Hailey Baptiste has been one of the rising talents in the WTA. Here's what to know about her career, ranking, and more.