Who is Venus Williams' fiancé Andrea Preti? All you need to know about the American's surprising engagement revelation at Citi DC Open

Seven-time Major champion Venus Williams' comeback at the Citi DC Open 2025 is going exceedingly well. Teaming up with Hailey Baptiste, she won her first match in over 16 months by beating Eugenie Bouchard and Clervie Ngounoue 6-3, 6-1. The real test of her abilities was always going to be in singles, and she passed it with flying colors.

Williams beat World No. 35 Peyton Stearns 6-3, 6-4 in the first round to register her first win in singles since the Cincinnati Open 2023. However, it was during her on-court interview when she dropped another bombshell, confirming her engagement to her partner, 37-year-old actor Andrea Preti.

Interviewer Rennae Stubbs asked Williams about life as an engaged woman, and how Preti has made a difference. The seven-time Major champion credited her fiance to continue playing and pushing her hard to be back on the court. Her victory was the icing on the cake since he had never seen her play right in front of him.

"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," she continued. "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," Williams said.

Preti was born in Denmark before moving to Italy, where he eventually ventured into modeling. He then moved to New York to pursue a career in acting. His roles include the Italian series The Professor and the film One More Day, which he also directed. Williams and Preti have been together for a year. Rumors of their romance started doing the rounds when they were spotted vacationing together in July 2024 in Nerano, Italy.

They have made quite a few public appearances together over the past few months, though this is the first big public confirmation that they're ready to tie the knot. The American's focus will now be on winning her next match in Washington.

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Venus Williams to face Magdalena Frech in the second round of the Citi DC Open

Venus Williams at the Citi DC Open 2025. (Photo: Getty)

Venus Williams will take on fifth seed Magdalena Frech in the second round of the Citi DC Open 2025 on Thursday, July 24. This will be the first meeting between them. The Pole beat Yuliia Starodubtseva 6-2, 6-4 in her opener.

However, Williams will first take to the court for her doubles match on Wednesday, July 23. Together with partner Hailey Baptiste, the two will face second seeds Taylor Townsend and Zhang Shuai in the quarterfinals.

45-year-old Williams' first-round win over Peyton Stearns made her the oldest player to win a singles match in over two decades. Martina Navratilova was the only player to win a match while being over 45 years of age when she accomplished the feat at Wimbledon 2004.

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Edited by Rohit