Venus Williams' singles return hampered by poor service performance, falls in Washington opener

Former World No.1 Venus Williams finally made her return to singles competition on the WTA tour, but fell in the first round of the Citi Open Washington event.

The seven-time Grand Slam singles champion had not competed in any singles event since the Chicago Open last August, and was hoping to begin her return with a victory in Washington. However, after not playing in a year, the rust was too much to overcome as the American fell 6-4 1-6 4-6 to Canadian Rebecca Marino.

Williams looked poised in the opening set, matching Marino in pace and eventually converting on one of her four break points to secure the first set. However, things fell apart for the 42-year old in the second, as she begin to rack up double faults. Williams hit a total of 13 double faults in the match, after committing just two in the first set.

With her serve failing her, there was little the American could do to prevent Marino from attacking her second serve. The World No.111 maintained her aggression, as she quickly broke Williams twice to level the match at a set apiece.

The deciding set saw Williams struggle to hold, and the American was eventually broken at the third time of asking. Marino capitalized on her opponent's lack of match play, extending rallies before eventually serving out the match after an hour and 52 minutes.

Despite losing her first match in a year, Williams looked competitive during the match. The two-time US Open champion is next scheduled to compete at the National Bank Open (Rogers Cup), which begins on August 6, 2022.