Venus Williams 'grateful' after Citi Open loss as icon ready to continue comeback

Venus Williams' exciting comeback tournament finally came to an end on Thursday night as she suffered a one-sided defeat to Magdalena Frech in Washington. The former world No. 1 spent 16 months away from the tour before returning to action in singles and doubles at this week's Citi Open, and got a couple of wins before losing in the second round of both draws.

After suffering a 6-2 6-2 defeat, the 45-year-old admitted she still felt "grateful" for her time in the US capital. And she's already looking forward to making progress after accepting a wildcard into the upcoming Cincinnati Open to continue her comeback.

"I think this moment for me was so much anticipation. It's kind of hard to describe, because where I came from to be here is somewhere where I never thought I'd see myself in life," Williams said as her Washington run came to an end.

"So then just to be here at all is really a blessing, and then to play well is just another blessing. So this is a moment that's really hard to describe and categorise. I feel like I'm still reflecting on it."

Williams teamed up with Hailey Baptiste in the doubles to win her comeback match. The 45-year-old then stunned world No. 35 Peyton Stearns in her opening singles match, becoming the oldest woman to earn a tour-level victory since 2004.

Williams and Baptiste lost to the second seeds Zhang Shuai and Taylor Townsend, and a day later, the seven-time Major winner ran out of gas against Frech.

But it was still an important week for the former No. 1, who walked to the centre of the court and completed her signature twirl wave in defeat.

She added: "I'm so grateful. I feel like I ran out of gas today, unfortunately. I tried to find the energy, and I didn't find it.

"But, you know, four matches in the first week is a lot. You know, I love playing doubles. One of the reasons you don't play is usually you're just trying to save your energy, and plus it's hot. When you're doing the training and the warmup, you're spending an extra hour sweating it out.

"I'm really grateful. I think without that doubles match, I don't know if I could have played as well in the singles. So I think everything served its purpose this week.

"I'm sorry to have fell short, but I know I can play better and I know I will play better. Congratulations to Magda today. I hope we get another chance to play this summer so I can play a little better next time."

They could well get another chance to compete against each other this summer, as Williams will compete in the WTA 1000 in Cincinnati. She's also entered the revamped US Open mixed doubles event with Reilly Opelka, so all signs point to a main draw singles return in Flushing Meadows.

And the American is already looking forward to preparing for her next match.

'll reflect on this match and the things I could have done better. I'll reflect on my preparation going into the matches to make sure I'm prime and ready. Those are the kind of things. But more than anything, I take a lot of information from this tournament. So much data," Williams explained.

"Like I can't wait to get on the practice court. My coach and I were already talking about what we're going to work on and also how much better I got so quickly in these last few weeks too was kind of like straight up a mountain.

"So we have made so much progress, and I expect that there will be more."

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