When Williams, 45, became the oldest WTA match winner since 2004, she shared the thrilling news.
She defeated 22-year-old Peyton Stearns in straight sets at the Citi Open in Washington, D.C., to win her first tennis match in 16 months.

Williams made her competitive comeback on Monday in the women’s doubles after a 16-month break, defeating Stearns 6-3, 6-4. She hadn’t won a singles match since Cincinnati in 2023 before defeating Stearns.
She told the audience after winning that she is now engaged to Preti, 37, and acknowledged him as a major source of inspiration during her recovery.

To thunderous applause and cheers, she said, “My fiancé is here, and he really encouraged me to keep playing.”

There were plenty of occasions when I just wanted to relax and coast. Are you aware of the difficulty of playing tennis? You guys have no idea how much labor goes into this; it’s like 9 to 5, but you’re always running.

Lifting weights is like dying, and you do it again the next day. It’s great to be here, and he urged me to persevere through this. I’ve never played for him.

When Williams was spotted practicing in Italy in February while wearing a massive ring on her wedding finger, there were initial rumors that Preti had proposed.

According to IMDb, Preti was born in Denmark but relocated to Italy as a teenager.
Next up for Williams is a difficult matchup with 27-year-old Polish player Magdalena Frech, the fifth seed.

Williams is a seven-time major champion who has won two US Opens and five Wimbledon crowns.