The only older woman to win a tour-level singles match was Martina Navratilova, whose last triumph came at 47 in 2004.

Playing her first singles match since August 2023, Venus Williams defeated World No. 35 Peyton Stearns in straight sets to become the oldest tour-level match winner in more than two decades.

There are plenty of reasons why this particular victory by Venus Williams in this particular tennis match — just one of hundreds — resonated with so many folks.

Williams won her first match at just 14 years old in 1994, beating Shaun Stafford at the WTA event in Oakland, California.