Venus Williams Exits Hobart in Straight Sets
In a final warm-up before her Australian Open return, Venus Williams battles Tatjana Maria’s tactical guile on Hobart’s courts, but a narrow defeat raises stakes for Melbourne’s age-defying quest.
In Hobart’s steady summer breeze, Venus Williams arrived chasing momentum, her 45-year-old frame a symbol of defiance against time’s pull. The seven-time Grand Slam champion, dipping to No. 576 in the rankings, gripped her racket tight for this wild-card slot at the Hobart International, just days from Melbourne Park. But Tatjana Maria, the sixth seed at 38 and ranked 42nd, absorbed the power and struck back, sealing a 6-4, 6-3 win in under 90 minutes.
Early breaks expose vulnerabilities
Williams struck first, breaking Maria’s serve in the opening set with a deep crosscourt forehand that forced an error on the German’s backhand side. Her own delivery boomed initially, setting up inside-out winners that echoed her prime, yet two service breaks followed as the Hobart hard court revealed cracks in her consistency. Maria’s looping lefty topspin kept rallies alive, pinning Williams deep and turning defense into offense with precise down-the-line passes.
The 45-year-old, who received a wild-card entry for the Australian Open, leaned on her 1–2 pattern—serve into a heavy forehand—but Maria‘s underspin backhand disrupted the flow, leading to unforced errors in key games. Coming off a first-round defeat in Auckland last week, where she lost her first-round match in Auckland, Williams fought to rebuild rhythm on a surface that demands precision over raw pace.
Second set hinges on one slip
Maria needed just a single break in the second set, capitalizing on Williams’ fading footwork during extended exchanges that tested the veteran’s endurance. Williams pushed forward with aggressive returns, stepping inside the baseline for inside-in forehands, but the lefty’s variety—mixing slice and topspin—neutralized the threat, flipping points with quick net rushes. The crowd, a pocket of locals under the Tasmanian sun, sensed the shift as Williams’ groundstrokes, once unerring, began to sail long under mounting pressure.
At Melbourne, Williams will chase history, surpassing the age record set by Kimiko Date, who competed at 44 in 2015. Her Australian Open finals in 2003 and 2017, both lost to her sister Serena, add emotional layers to this comeback after five years away from the slams. This Hobart exit sharpens the focus: conserving energy for deeper runs on a slower Melbourne deck, where tactical patience could unlock one more chapter.
Upsets echo across the draw
Elsewhere, Barbora Krejčíková, the two-time major winner ranked 55th and unseeded here, fell in a three-set battle to Peyton Stearns, 6-4, 1-6, 7-6(4). Krejčíková's serve wavered in the tiebreak, allowing the American’s returns to dictate tempo and expose backhand weaknesses. These results paint Hobart as a proving ground, where veterans like Williams must adapt swiftly before the Australian Open’s Sunday start, her path forward a blend of grit and calculated risks.