In the latest edition of Tennis Now TV, we look at Venus Williams thrilling comeback to the tour at the Citi Open in Washington, DC, and contemplate what could come next for the seven-time major champion.
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Evans Blasts “Pathetic” Davidovich Fokina Complaint
By Richard Pagliaro | Friday, August 1, 2025
Mubadala Citi DC Open Facebook
Alejandro Davidovich Fokina slammed ATP scheduling in Toronto.
Dan Evans delivered a stinging wake-up call to the Spaniard in response.
On his Instagram Stories, Evans called out Davidovich Fokina’s “pathetic” griping.
Reposting the Spaniard’s criticism, Evans posted “Wake up and play. The world wakes up and works 9-5 even 8-6. Pathetic.”
The Briton’s blunt response came after Davidovich Fokina, who suffered a gut-wrenching loss to Alex de Minaur in last week’s Washington, DC final, ripped the ATP scheduling his National Bank Open match for 11 a.m.
“Every match starts at 12:30 p.m., except ours, which has been scheduled for 11 a.m.,” Davidovich Fokina wrote on Instagram Stories. “We’re staying one hour away from the club, which means that we have to wake up extremely early to arrive in good conditions. We asked for a change, but the answer was that everything was already sold: tickets, TV rights, etc. Once again, it’s clear that the players are not taken into consideration. The ATP always promises they’ll fix things, but nothing ever changes.”
Fourth Gear: Fernandez Crushes Kalinskaya for Fourth Title in Washington, DC
By Richard Pagliaro | Sunday, July 27, 2025
Photo credit: Mubadala Citi DC Open Facebook
Pushed into the doubles alley, Leylah Fernandez fired a forehand strike.
Even when she was operating from defensive positions, Fernandez conjured offensive magic.
In a brilliant performance, Fernandez crushed Anna Kalinskaya 6-1, 6-2 to roll to her fourth career championship at the Mubadala Citi DC Open final today.
The 22-year-old Fernandez made history as the first Canadian to rule Washington, DC. Unleashing a 69-minute thrashing, Fernandez soared to the biggest title of her career—and first since she won 2023 Hong Kong.
“Wow. First of all I want to congratulate Anna and her team,” Fernandez said after winning her first WTA 500 championship. “You’re a tough opponent to play against so congratulations and hope for the best for the future.
“Secondly, I want to thank the DC crowd, give yourself a round of applause. Thank you for being there all week. You guys have been amazing for cheering us on all week through the heat, the humidity the rain so thank you for being here all week.”
Former world No. 13 Fernandez capped a spectacular week that saw her knock off Aussie talent Maya Joint, top-seeded and 2024 US Open finalist Jessica Pegula, new WTA doubles No. 1 and home hero Taylor Townsend and 2022 Wimbledon champion Elena Rybakina in a grueling triple tiebreaker test in the height of the DC heat yesterday.
Fernandez posted four Top 50 wins this week in a stirring triumph that thrusts her back into the Top 25 at No. 24 in the Live Rankings.
World No. 48 Kalinskaya swept 2021 US Open champion Emma Raducanu yesterday, denying DC fans the prospect of a 2021 US Open final rematch.
The Russian, who had not surrendered a set en route to the final, looked overwhelmed playing for her maiden title today.
“I want to congratulate Leylah, an amazing fighter this week,” Kalinskaya said. “You truly deserve it. I’ll see you soon, maybe we’ll play each other next week you never know.”
Though Kalinskaya’s second serve is usually a sturdy shot, Fernandez won 10 of 12 points played on the Russian’s second serve and converted four of six break points today.
The left-handed Canadian cracked 16 winners, which is seven more than Kalinskaya hit.
Despite her draining three hour, 12-minute triumph over WTA ace leader Rybakina in sweltering heat yesterday, Fernandez exuded more energy and urgency from the opening point today.
Deadlocked after two games, Fernandez surged through five games in a row for a one-set lead.
Belting a backhand down the line brought Fernandez a third set point. Sprinting to her right, Fernandez flicked a drop shot winner to snatch a one-set lead.
Striking a rousing running forehand strike helped Fernandez stretch her lead to 6-1, 3-1.
Straddling the baseline, Fernandez attacked and blocked a forehand volley winner for two more break points.
Cracking a clean backhand return winner down the line, Fernandez stamped her fourth break of the match for a 4-1 second set lead.
Kalinskaya made a brief push going up love-30 in the next game, but Fernandez fired through four points in a row. Flashing a serve winner down the T, Fernandez threw a clenched fist to her father in the support box extending to 6-1, 5-1 after just 61 minutes of play.
On her third championship point, Fernandez closed on Kalinskaya’s 24th unforced error.
"Why Not?" – Legendary Venus Williams Speaks Ahead of Citi Open Return
The American icon doled out wisdom and inspiration in her pre-tournament press conference at the Citi Open.
By Chris Oddo | @TheFanChild | Sunday July 20, 2025
Venus Williams, 45, has a lot of reasons to move beyond professional tennis and take advantage of the many creative and entrepreneurial opportunities are now available to her. But she could not resist the pull to test herself against the sports’ elite at least one more time this week at the Mubadala Citi Open in Washington, D.C.
Williams, who was granted a wild card into the main draw and will face American Peyton Stearns in her first match since the 2024 Miami Open, explains her decision to play as follows: “Why not?”
The American icon spoke to the media in a pre-tournament press conference on Sunday and doled out wisdom at a rapid clip.
“It's incredible,” she said, beaming from the podium, as she was asked what it felt like to inspire America’s next generation of talent. “Actually, that was not what I thought would happen in my life as a young person. I wanted to play the game, be a champion. I loved the game so much, I didn't realize that it would be so much bigger than myself, and seeing these young women doing positive things with their life, winning tournaments, inspiring the next generation too. It's like I could have never imagined that.”
She finished the declaration with a very Venus sentence:
“It's like icing on the cake, cherries on top, with the nuts and all the fixings. You know, it's beautiful.”
Did she miss tennis? Is that why she’s returning this week? Not necessarily.
“I'm not a person that misses a lot,” she said. “I have so much I'm doing off of the court that kept me so busy that I don't know if I had time to miss anything, but I do know that when I went to Wimbledon this year, I was there for a day, and it was so beautiful and exciting, and I remembered all the times that I had, of course, the adrenaline, all those things, I think just the pure fun of playing the game, the fun of the challenge, overcoming – when you play, you have to overcome so many challenges, your opponents, the conditions, a lot of times you have to overcome yourself.
“Those things are very exciting. So I think maybe just the challenge of it all.”
Williams may want to catch a wild card at the US Open, but as she said numerous times during her press conference, she prefers to keep her cards tight to her vest.
“I'm just here for now, and who knows, maybe there's more,” she said. “Like I said, I hold my cards close, but at the moment I'm focused just on this, and I haven't played in a year. There's no doubt I can play tennis, but obviously, coming back to play matches, it takes time to get in the swing of things.”
Which takes us to our next question. Can she be effective on the tennis court, at her age, after so many health issues? Williams has not won a match since 2023 in Cincinnati, and she has won just six of 26 matches since the start of 2021.
Not that it really matters to fans who just want to catch a glimpse of this legend up close and personal, but Williams feels she has what it takes to play winning tennis.
“I definitely feel I'll play well. I'm still the same player. I hit big,” she said with a smile. “This is my brand. So it's about hitting big and actually putting it in. So this will be my effort. Put it in the court. That's my main goal.
More important, is being a part of the game that she loves, and continuing to fly the flag for women’s tennis. Remember that Venus played a pivotal role in garnering equal prize money for women at Wimbledon nearly two decades ago. She’s been championing the women’s game ever since, and she’s not ready to stop – at least not yet.
“I always felt a big responsibility towards promoting tennis and also promoting women’s sports. I think that this generation can't forget that women, we still have lots to fight for and having an example to set is so important.
“And of course, I'm in love with tennis, so to have the opportunity, to have this platform, to promote the game, even now, is a great opportunity.”
It will be Venus Williams vs Peyton Stearns in round one at DC. pic.twitter.com/BxxoPSftHF
— TennisNow (@Tennis_Now) July 20, 2025
Rune Working with Andre Agassi Ahead of Citi Open
The pair will reportedly spend three days together, according to a report by Stephanie Myles.
By Chris Oddo | @TheFanChild | Saturday July 19, 2025
Holger Rune and Andre Agassi are spending some quality time together at the Citi Open in Washington, D.C.
According to Stephanie Myles of Open Court, who shot the below video, the pair are to spend three days together prepping for the ATP 500 event.
According to Myles, the pair will spend three days together in the hopes that Rune can gain some insight from the eight-time Slam champion
The Dane has had both good and bad moments this season. Famously, he defeated Carlos Alcaraz in the Barcelona final. But he's only 22-14 on the season with the one title. He reached the round of 16 at the Australian Open and Roland-Garros, but lost in the first round at Wimbledon.
Agassi has been on the scene a bit in recent months, commentating for TNT at Roland-Garros for four days, and appearing on the Andy Roddick First Serve Podcast for an in-depth interview.
Venus Williams Set for Tennis Return in Washington DC.
All-time great Venus Williams is set to compete for the first time in 2025 at the upcoming Mubadala Citi DC Open.
By Erik Gudris | @atntennis | Friday, July 11, 2025
Photo credit: Rob Newell/CameraSport
Venus Williams is set to return to the courts this summer in Washington, D.C.
The all-time great and seven-time major singles champion received a wildcard into the upcoming Mubadala Citi DC Open, the only combined ATP/WTA 500 event.
“I'm excited to accept a wild card to the Mubadala Citi DC Open. There's something truly special about DC: the energy, the fans, the history," Willams said in a statement. "This city has always shown me so much love, and I can’t wait to compete there again!"
A legend returns ✨ @Venuseswilliams will make her first appearance in DC since 2022!#MubadalaCitiDCOpen pic.twitter.com/lLa6LCnG7B
— Mubadala Citi DC Open (@mubadalacitidc) July 11, 2025
Williams, 45, has not competed in a professional tournament since the Miami Open last year where she lost in the first round to Diana Shnaider. Williams has been listed as inactive on the WTA tour website since then.
Our strongest player field ever 🔥
Seven Top 10 players, five Grand Slam champions & the top nine US men are all coming to DC this summer!#MubadalaCitiDCOpen
— Mubadala Citi DC Open (@mubadalacitidc) June 26, 2025
“We are so excited that Venus will be playing in the Mubadala Citi DC Open this year," said Mark Ein, Mubadala Citi DC Open Chairman. "She has inspired people around the world with her accomplishments on the court and her visionary impact off the court. I know how much it means to our DC fans and community to be able to watch her compete in person this summer.”
Earlier this spring, Indian Wells tournament organizers announced Williams would make her pro return there at the WTA 1000 event. However, Williams later denied that she had any plans to compete there. Williams provided commentary for TNT Sports at Roland-Garros back in May.
Williams last appeared at the DC tournament back in 2022.