Venus Williams has been given a wildcard for the Cincinnati Open, which kicks off on August 7. The 45-year-old returned to tour at the Washington Open winning her first match in sixteen months before her loss in the second round.

This was not a one-stop hello-and-farewell appearance for the 45-year-old Venus Williams, who had been away from the tour for 16 months before showing up in Washington and winning once each in singles and doubles.

Venus Williams became the second-oldest woman to win a tour-level singles match in professional tennis, delivering some of her familiar big serves and groundstrokes at age 45 while beating Peyton Stearns — 22 years her junior — by a 6-3, 6-4 score at the DC Open on Tuesday night.

Serena and Venus Williams lost, 6-7 (5-7), 4-6, to the Czech duo of Lucie Hradecka and Linda Noskova in the first round of women’s doubles at the U.S. Open. It was the Williams sisters’ first ...