Venus Williams confirms engagement to Andrea Preti
Game, set, match! Venus Williams gave her fiancé a shout-out following her historic win at the DC Open.
It's official, Venus Williams is going to be a missus.
The tennis champ has confirmed her engagement to Italian model and actor Andrea Preti.
She was pictured wearing a huge rock on her finger in February, but remained mum about the proposal. That changed after her big win at the DC Open in Washington, D.C.
The 45-year-old won her first tour-level singles match in two years, making her the second oldest woman to win. She is also the oldest player to achieve the feat in 21 years.
On Tuesday, she beat 23-year-old Peyton Stearn 6-3, 6-4.
During her post-match interview, Williams was asked about her engagement.
"You are now an engaged woman. So, how has Andrea helped you in this comeback? I mean, how much has he made a difference in your life?" interviewer Rennae Stubbs asked.
It was hard for Williams to hide her smile.
"My fiancé is here. He really encouraged me to keep playing. There were so many times when I just wanted to coast and chill. Do you know how hard it is to play tennis? It’s 9 to 5 except you’re running the whole time," she said.
"He encouraged me to get through this. And it's wonderful to be here. He's never seen me play."
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Venus Williams and Andrea Preti share a peck while taking pictures at the DSQUARED2 photo call for tonight’s fall 2025 runway show in Milan. pic.twitter.com/lmB4ACK8Zn
— WWD (@wwd) February 25, 2025
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While Williams and Preti have attended events together, they don't share pictures of each other on social media.
They first sparked dating rumours in July last year.
Her sister Serena has two children with her husband, Reddit co-founder Alexis Ohanian. Williams, however, has not been in a hurry to settle down.
"I have a lot of friends who don’t believe me when I say that I like my life and I don’t want to change it for any reason. I’m not desperate and they don’t believe me," she told Cosmopolitan in 2021.
"They say things like, ‘You’re going to miss your window.’ I’m like, ‘Please, relax. You might feel this way, but I don’t. I promise you I don’t.’"
Williams has previously been linked to Cuban model Elio Pis and Nicholas Hammond.
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Main image credit: Instagram/@venuswilliams, @andreapreti88