Venus Williams’ return to the WTA Tour has delighted fans across the globe.
The 45-year-old has defied expectations, winning her opening singles and doubles matches at the Washington Open.
On Tuesday evening, Venus beat world number 35 Peyton Stearns in one of the biggest upsets of the season, helping to achieve something for the first time in over 45 years. Venus, who was unranked before the tournaments, will shoot up to 643 in the world according to the live rankings.
Venus also won her opening doubles match in Washington while partnered with a fellow American, defeating Eugenie Bouchard and Clervie Ngounoue 6-3 6-1.
Meet Hailey Baptiste
Hailey Baptiste has returned to her first home in Washington, having been born in the capital in 2001.
The 23-year-old has enjoyed a storied career so far, making her mark early on the WTA Tour. In her first WTA Tour appearance at the Washington Open in 2019, she beat reigning Australian Open champion Madison Keys, winning 7-6 6-2.
As per the WTA Tour website, Baptiste was formerly coached by Peter Lucassen at the USTA National Campus in Orlando, met Venus and Serena Williams when she was a child while the sisters were both playing World Team Tennis.
Even more remarkably, the young American managed to hit with both Venus and Serena.
While Baptiste has been successful in singles, it is the doubles format where she has shone. She reached the 2018 junior US Open Girls Doubles final alongside Dalayna Hewitt before losing 6-3 6-2 to Coco Gauff and Catherine McNally.
Around two-and-a-half years later, Baptiste teamed up with McNally to win her first WTA doubles title at the Charleston Open.
Baptiste recently reached the third round of the Wimbledon Ladies Singles before losing to Mirra Andreeva. The American, who was paired with Catherine McNally, lost in the first round of the Ladies Doubles to Laura Siegemund and Beatriz Haddad Maia.
In Washington, the American lost her opening singles match against former Australian Open champion Sofia Kenin. However, she can look forward to another almighty clash alongside Venus Williams, when they face second seeds Taylor Townsend and Shuai Zhang.
Baptiste is coached by Frances Tiafoe’s twin brother
After Baptiste won her first round match at the Charleston Open this year, she spoke to the Tennis Channel about her coaching relationship with Franklin Tiafoe. Franklin is the twin brother of American superstar Frances Tiafoe, who was seen cheering on Baptiste during her third round match at Wimbledon against Mirra Andreeva.
Baptiste said: “He’s like my best friend and my brother so he’s sometimes used as a punching bag.
“But he definitely keeps my head level and it’s great to have him here with me.”
When asked for the biggest difference between Frances and Franklin, Baptiste said: “Franklin’s going to always say that he’s the bigger brother, so that really annoys me because they’re twins.
“But he always brags about that for some reason. I love them both.”
