“This is why they give Venus Williams wildcards at age 45” - Fans react as American draws larger crowd than Reilly Opelka's singles match at Citi Open

Venus Williams recently made a triumphant return to tennis as she clinched a win in her opening round at the Mubadala Citi DC Open. The American’s doubles match drew a significantly larger crowd than compatriot Reilly Opelka's singles opening round encounter, and fans were quick to comment on the same.

Williams was last seen in action at the 2024 Miami Open, where she was dealt an opening round loss. Since then, the seven-time Grand Slam champion has taken an extended hiatus from the sport as she struggled with injury issues.

Earlier this month, it was announced that the American has accepted a wildcard entry to the Citi DC Open. On Tuesday, Venus Williams finally returned to the court, winning her doubles encounter alongside Hailey Baptiste. The 45-year-old’s match drew a much larger audience than Reilly Opelka's singles match, and fans had plenty to say about the same. Taking to X, one fan wrote,

“This is why they give her wildcards at age 45 and I’m here for it.”

Another X user took a dig at Reilly Opelka, writing,

“Well too be fair no one has ever said “ Let’s go watch an Opelka match” especially when you have to pay your hard earned money.”

Here is how other fans reacted to Williams’ doubles match drawing a larger crowd then Opelka's singles encounter:

“Tennis will never be able to replicate the star power of Venus and Serena, particularly in America 🤷‍♂️ They were, and are, a once in a lifetime phenomenon,” one fan wrote. “Doubles, singles, triples... doesn't matter. People want to watch Venus Williams because she is a STAR! Imagine if we marketed doubles players to become stars 🤔,” another added. “Failed singles player Reilly Opelka strikes again,” one X user wrote. “Nobody is willingly going to watch an opelka match,” another fan added.

Venus Williams to begin her singles campaign on Wednesday

Williams at the Mubadala Citi DC Open 2025 (Image Source: Getty)

On Tuesday, Venus Williams and Hailey Baptiste took to court against Eugenie Bouchard and Clervie Ngounoue. While the Americans duo struggled in the opening moments of the match, they quickly recovered to clinch a dominant 6-3, 6-1 win over their opponents.

Now, Williams is scheduled to begin her singles campaign at the Citi DC Open on Wednesday. The 45-year-old will take on World No.35 Payton Stearns. The two players have never faced each other before. While Stearns remains a favorite for the win, if Venus Williams was to claim a victory, she'd become the oldest woman to achieve this feat since Martina Navratilova in 2004.

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Edited by Riddhi Acharya