4 players who have won a WTA main-draw match after turning 40 since 2000 ft. Serena Williams and Venus Williams
Serena Williams booked her place in the second round of the Canadian Open by defeating Nuria Parrizas-Diaz 6-3, 6-4. The American used all her experience to come through a tough test in two hours and a minute.
The win marked Serena Williams' first this season. It was also her first victory since turning 40. She will face either Belinda Bencic or Tereza Martincova in the second round.
@serenawilliams comes through a tough test in Toronto to advance to Round 2!Another year, another Serena win 🙌
🇺🇸 @serenawilliams comes through a tough test in Toronto to advance to Round 2!
#NBO22 https://t.co/PGUY5sX10k
Williams, though, isn't the only woman to have won a WTA match in her 40s this century.
Let's take a look at four women since 2000 who have won a WTA main-draw match after turning 40:
#1 Serena Williams
Serena Williams is the most recent addition to this list following her opening-round win at the Canadian Open. The 40-year-old won her first match of the season by defeating Spain's Nuria Parrizas-Diaz 6-3, 6-4 in just over two hours.
Serena Williams has established herself as arguably the greatest player in the history of women's tennis. She won her first Grand Slam singles title aged 17 and has continued to win Majors well into her 30s, with her most recent coming at the age of 35.
While it looks increasingly unlikely that Serena Williams will equal Margaret Court's record of 24 Grand Slam singles titles, the American might just have a few more surprises up her sleeve.
#2 Martina Navratilova
One of the greatest players of all-time, Martina Navratilova had a splendid career during which she won 167 singles titles, including 18 Grand Slams. The Czech-American announced her retirement from the singles circuit in 1994 but continued to play and win Majors in doubles.
Navratilova made a brief return to singles in 2004, when she was 47 and competed at the French Open and Wimbledon. In the latter, she reached the second round by thrashing Colombia's Catalina Castano 6-0, 6-1.
Navratilova thus became the oldest player in the Open Era to win a match at Wimbledon.
#3 Venus Williams
The fact that Venus Williams is still competing on the WTA tour is incredible, considering she was diagnosed with Sjogren's Syndrome, an autoimmune disease that affects the joints, in 2011.
The seven-time Grand Slam winner has won four singles matches since turning 40. Her first victory in her 40s came against Victoria Azarenka at the Top Seed Open in 2020. She later defeated Arantxa Rus, Kirsten Flipkens and Mihaela Buzarnescu.
The 42-year-old returned to the WTA tour this season after being on the sidelines for nearly a year. Williams played her first singles match at the Citi Open last week and lost 4-6, 6-1, 6-4 against Rebecca Marino.
#4 Kimiko Date-Krumm
One of the finest players to have come out of Japan, Kimiko Date-Krumm produced some brilliant performances during the mid 1990s as she reached three Grand Slam semifinals and won eight WTA titles.
She retired in 1996 but returned in 2008 when she was in her late 30s. Date-Krumm turned 40 in 2010 and reached the final of the HP Open that year.
The Japanese was seeded sixth at the tournament and beat World No. 8 Samantha Stosur in the quarterfinals, thus becoming the first woman in her 40s to defeat a top-10 opponent.
Date-Krumm went on to play for a few more years before retiring in 2017, aged 46.
Martina Navratilova
Players since 2000 to win a WTA main-draw match after turning 40:
💪 Martina Navratilova
💪 Kimiko Date Krumm
💪 Venus Williams
💪 @serenawilliams
"But, you know, I can’t do this forever. Sometimes you just want to try your best to enjoy the moments and do the best you can.” 👇