An emotional Venus Williams fought back tears while candidly speaking to the media after she was eliminated from the US Open in the first round Monday. Then, her press conference was cut short.

Almost everyone was a Venus Williams fan on Monday night. The 45-year-old became the fourth-oldest woman to ever compete in the U.S. Open single tournament facing 11th ranked Karolina Muchova in the first round. It was a high call but Williams answered it, pushing the match to a third set before being defeated 3-6, 6-2, 1-6.

That Venus Williams lost her first Grand Slam match in two years — and what she says will be her last match of 2025 — didn't really matter Monday night. Certainly not to the thousands of supportive spectators in the Arthur Ashe Stadium seats who roared for her best shots and,