Nick Kyrgios sparks debate: Could Roger Federer emulate Venus Williams' comeback?

Nick Kyrgios stirred up a social media debate by questioning whether Roger Federer could emulate Venus Williams in a hypothetical return to tennis. The Australian congratulated the American seven-time major champion for her incredible comeback victory and compared the ages of the two multiple Grand Slam champions to discuss the topic with fans.

Williams recently returned to the courts at 45 years old amidst criticism for the wildcard she received, with some alleging she didn't truly have the level to be competitive at this age. She debuted with a victory in women's doubles alongside Hailey Baptiste, comfortably defeating Eugenie Bouchard and Clervie Ngounoue (6-3, 6-1). In the quarterfinals, they faced the second seeds Shuai Zhang (No. 15 doubles) and Taylor Townsend (No. 2), pushing them to a super tie-break before agonizingly falling short.

However, she delivered the biggest blow in the singles draw, defeating world No. 35 Peyton Stearns 6-3, 6-4. This was her first singles triumph in almost two years since the Cincinnati Open 2023, where she eliminated 17th seed Veronika Kudermetova. The match against Stearns was marked by Williams' constant opportunities on return (she converted 6/14 break points), in addition to a more than positive serving performance, with 9 aces and winning 71% of points on her first serve.

Kyrgios's comparison arose by looking at the age difference between Williams and Federer. The Swiss Maestro has been retired since 2022, and at 43 years old, the Australian believes that Roger's level is still there.

Kyrgios was surprised by the level shown by Williams in her return, a player without a ranking who hadn't played an official match since March 2024. He posed the question: "Here is the question of the day: I was having a heated debate with my boy today about, obviously Venus Williams comes back, 45 years-old, comes back and had an amazing win, plays an incredible match.”

“So it’s part of debate if Roger Federer, at the age of 43, off the couch right now, off the couch right now, no preparation. Does he come back and is he able to beat anyone in the Washington draw right now. Does he last a match physically? Is his level good enough? I think the level is there, but I don’t think he lasts a match, what do you think?”

The men's DC Open draw included four players within the top-10: Taylor Fritz (No. 4), Ben Shelton (No. 8), Lorenzo Musetti (No. 7), and Andrey Rublev (No. 10), with the latter three eliminated in the first round. Other notable names included former No. 1 Daniil Medvedev, as well as the always complicated Alex de Minaur and Frances Tiafoe.

The Australian announced his return to the courts a couple of weeks ago, after four months without playing. The Australian planned his return to the courts over the last two seasons while recovering from an injury and returned to the courts at the beginning of the year, despite much speculation regarding a possible retirement after undergoing surgery and his long time away from the ATP Tour.

He managed to return at the beginning of the year, playing four tournaments and only getting one win: at the Miami Open in March, defeating Mackenzie McDonald in the first round, before falling to Karen Khachanov. While trying to recover his physical form, he signed up for the DC Open, joining Gael Monfils for the doubles draw, although they ended up exiting quickly in the first round against the 3rd seeds Roger-Vasselin and Nys, in a crushing victory for the doubles specialists by 6-2, 6-2.

The former world No. 1 remains in competition at the WTA 500 DC Open and will have a new opportunity to step onto the court this Friday, July 25. Williams will face 5th seed Magdalena Frech, 27 years old. The Pole debuted with a straightforward victory against Yulia Starodubtseva. Williams is looking to achieve consecutive wins for the first time since the Cincinnati Open 2019.