"Proud" - Venus Williams' fiancé Andrea Preti shares endearing reaction after witnessing American's impressive singles win at Citi DC Open

Venus Williams' fiance, Andrea Preti, recently heaped praise on the American for her incredible run at the first round of the Citi Open. The tennis star made a comeback to the sport after a span of 16 months.

Williams is currently competing at the Citi Open and played her first singles match after 16 months on Tuesday, July 22. She made an incredible comeback while locking horns with Peyton Stearns in the first round of the tournament, dominating the fellow American with a 6-3, 6-4 win. The 45-year-old advanced to the second round, where she will be competing against Magdalena Frech on Thursday, July 24.

The victory garnered the attention of her fiancé, Preti, who reshared Citi Open's post, which carried Williams' pictures, on his Instagram story and praised her by adding a caption that read:

"Why not? 🤍 Proud"

Andrea Preti's Instagram story

The caption, 'Why not,' added in the story, was quoted from Williams' recent press conference after her first-round win. Here she was asked why she would grind in the hot and humid climate at the age of 45, to which she replied, 'Why not?'

He shared another post by one of the fan pages on his Instagram story, which carried a collage of Williams's 1994 and 2025 versions. Reacting to it, he again captioned it as:

"Why not?"

Andrea Preti's Instagram story

Ahead of competing at the Citi Open, Venus Williams was last seen in action during the Miami Open in March 2024. Along with her comeback, the American also confirmed her engagement with Andrea Preti in a recent interview.

When Venus Williams confirmed being engaged to her fiancé, Andrea Preti

Following her first singles win since March 2024 at the Citi Open, Venus Williams sat for a post-match press conference, where she confirmed her engagement with Andrea Preti. The former tennis player, Rennae Stubbs, asked about her feelings about being an engaged woman and about her fiancé's role in her return to the tennis court.

Revealing how Preti encouraged her to keep playing, she said (as quoted by People magazine):

"My fiancé is here and he really encouraged me to keep playing. There were so many times where I just wanted to coast and kind of chill. Do you know how hard it is to play tennis? You guys don’t know how much work goes into this, like it’s 9 to 5 except you’re running the whole time. Lifting weights and just like dying and then you repeat it the next day. So he encouraged me to get through this and it’s wonderful to be here. He’s never seen me play."

Venus Williams and Andrea Preti made their relationship public by appearing with him at the Dsquared2 fashion show, where they flaunted each other by sharing an adorable kiss in Milan. The couple was first spotted together vacationing on the Amalfi Coast in July 2024.

Edited by Samya Majumdar