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Venus Williams, 45, is engaged to Italian-Danish actor Andrea Preti, 37. The tennis icon confirmed the news just moments after her first singles win in 16 months, defeating Peyton Stearns at the Citi Open in Washington, D.C.
Speaking courtside, she couldn't hide the joy, even if she tried. "My fiancé is here and he really encouraged me to keep playing," she told the crowd. "It's 9 to 5 except you're running the whole time. Lifting weights and dying. Then you repeat it." Preti, in the stands, watched her mark her return. Her last match was in March 2024. She'd since undergone surgery to remove uterine fibroids—an issue she later revealed had plagued her for years.
"Crazy amounts of bleeding, like you couldn't imagine," she told NBC News. "My doctors told me it was normal. No one should have to live this way."
Her health struggles reshaped her mindset. "Being able to prepare for a tournament instead of preparing for surgery, night and day," she said. "If your health isn't there, nothing else matters."
The couple first made headlines in July 2024, spotted boating off the Amalfi Coast. Engagement rumors started swirling in February 2025, when Williams was seen in Rome wearing a diamond ring on her left hand.
They appeared again, that month, at Milan Fashion Week. A second, different diamond ring drew more attention. Williams stayed quiet, until now. Preti, whose acting credits include A Professor and One More Day, has rarely spoken publicly about their relationship. But Williams made it clear: "He's never seen me play. It's wonderful to be here."
For most of her career, Venus remained publicly single. In 2021, she told Cosmopolitan, "I'm not desperate. I like my life and don't want to change it." But by 2022, her views had shifted. "When life changes, you've got to know when to change." On Tuesday, Venus became the oldest woman to win a WTA singles match since Martina Navratilova, 2004. She now faces No. 5 seed Magdalena Frech.
Venus Williams has 7 Grand Slam singles titles, 4 Olympic gold medals, and over $42 million in prize money. But right now, she says, she's just "praying for good health."