Venus Williams, 45, eyes the French Open after a 10th straight loss

“Yeah, I mean, to get my feet dirty, this was a great start,” she said in her post-match news conference at the Madrid Open. “I’m not able to play Rome, I have other commitments, unfortunately, so I’m really super sad about that, actually. My husband is Italian, so we feel sad that we can’t be there. So we would love to keep it going on the clay.”

Williams, a seven-time Grand Slam champion, lost 6-2, 6-4 to 20-year-old Spaniard Kaitlin Quevedo.

Williams hadn't played in Madrid in five years. Her last tournament on clay had been at the 2021 French Open, when she lost her first match to Ekaterina Alexandrova.

“All these things take adjustments,” Williams said. “I started my practice on clay a couple weeks after Miami. I haven’t really played on clay in years. But I enjoy the clay, it’s fun. I played against a very inspired opponent today.”

Williams' last win on tour was against Peyton Stearns in the round of 16 of an WTA 500 event in Washington in July 2025. This year, she had already lost in Auckland, Hobart, the Australian Open, Austin, Indian Wells and Miami.

Quevedo earned her first WTA 1000 main-draw win, and just the second tour-level victory of her career. She became the youngest Spanish player to win a main-draw match at the Madrid Open.

“I was so surprised,” Quevedo said. “I didn’t know that was going to happen. I’m just really happy that I was able to play against such a legend on this amazing court for the first time. It was a privilege, and I’m just really happy to be here.”

AP tennis: https://apnews.com/hub/tennis