Venus Williams, 45, has become the oldest WTA winner since 2004
Williams is the oldest woman to win a tour-level singles match since 47-year-old Martina Navratirova.
Statistics run video
Venus Williams’ run at the City Open in Washington, DC ended in the second round on Thursday, July 24th, but that didn’t make her a surprising story.
Williams, who played in his first singles match in over a year, is currently unranked and excited fan Williams, an exciting fan who is currently unranked when he defeated Payton Stearns 6-3, 6-4 on July 22.
That same day, 45-year-old pitcher Richhill became the oldest player in Kansas City Royals history when he began playing against the Cubs. He has allowed one run in five innings in his first game since September 2024.
Three days ago, 46-year-old boxer Manny Pacquiao returned to the ring for the first time in almost four years. Pacquiao electrified the crowd when he fought WBC World Welterweight Champion, a 30-year-old Mario Barrios.
“I think that athlete at that level is a different kind of person in the first place,” said Tanaka Miho, an orthopedic surgeon and director of the Women’s Sports Medicine program at Massachusetts General Hospital. “But I think longevity really requires that complete preparation and support.”
She cited other experts who spoke with USA Today, “optimizing kinematics.” In an interview with USA Today Sports, they provided their insights as the feats of Williams, Hill and Paccaio shine a spotlight on the broader phenomenon of the sport.
An older athlete playing at the elite level.
Important and refined elements
William Kremer, a former coach of multiple sports who has become a prolific researcher in sports science, is now seeing something relatively new.
Not only Venus Williams, Rich Hill, and Manny Pacquiao, but other athletes are thriving despite their relatively advanced age. That list includes LeBron James, who will be 41 years old during the upcoming NBA seasons. Alex Ovechkin will turn 40 during the next season of the NHL. 38 comparative youngster Lionel Messi.
“We’ve seen a lot of experience in sports performance and sports sciences at Ohio State,” said Kraemer, senior advisor to sports performance and sports sciences. “It’s a lot more knowledge to participate in athletic training.”
That includes improved personalization and sequencing of workouts, Kraemer also cites technologies such as Oura Ring, which he wore to monitor health and fitness metrics. Dry float therapy, floating on a membrane filled with unwet water, wet float therapy, floating in a tank with salt water and wet. And a high pressure chamber that can cost as much as $90,000 for sleep.
“It’s growing to become a standard just because there are such high-level athletes working and all the money is involved,” says Kraemer.
Price tags for such techniques may not be a barrier for wealthy older athletes.
James’ longtime friend and business partner Maverick Carter told GQ in 2018 that James spends more than $1 million a year to keep his body in the best possible state.
“I don’t know where the amount of money comes from, but I’m certainly investing in my body,” James said this year on The Pat McAfee Show. “Whatever I can do to continue playing at this level, I will continue while I play.”
Work smarter, not difficult
Dedication seems to be a unified aspect of a thriving older athlete.
After winning this week’s first round match, Williams said:
But Mike Boyle, a former strength and conditioning coach who worked for the Boston Bruins and Boston Red Sox, doesn’t necessarily mean athletes of the game’s age are working hard.
“I think before, I think I would have focused more on how heavily you lifted and how tired you were,” he said. “And I think people are beginning to realize that they are probably not really the best indicators.”
Take the Pacquiao. Pacquiao’s strength and conditioning coach Justin Fortune said the boxer has embraced the need for more rest since he was hit by a shocking defeat to Jeff Horn in 2017 with a unanimous decision.
“He burned out about two weeks before the fight,” Fortune said.
Teacher Tanaka, an orthopedic surgeon and director of the Women’s Sports Medicine program at Massachusetts General Hospital, suggests that wisdom is also working to deal with injuries.
Since joining Intermiami in 2003, James has been dealing with a selection of recent injuries, as has Messi.
“I think as athletes age in their careers, they can become a little smarter in terms of how they approach injuries and how they come back from them,” she said. “They know when they don’t push much.”
Nutritional plans, blood tests, supplements
James, the NBA’s all-time goal scorer, and Williams, the winner of the seven-time Grand Slam, touted the benefits of individual chefs. But Hill has 21 major seasons and needs little extra money to eat or supplements, said Marie Spano, a registered dietitian who works for the Washington Nationals.
“Baseball has changed dramatically and I’ve returned from the day I was handed over the club’s peanut butter and jelly sandwiches,” said Spano, who worked for the Atlanta Braves. “Even when I first started playing baseball in 2013, it has changed dramatically since then.
“They spend astronomical quantities on food and supplements. Every team has registered dietitians, and advanced teams do blood tests. They take more steps to use body composition, muscle bones and that data to promote intervention.”
It is the older players who make the most of their resources, Spano said.
“Like I always tell every rookie, every older athlete I worked with dials everything,” she said. “They want a detailed nutritional plan. They want to finish their blood tests, they want to dial in supplements, they check in with you regularly.”
Secret Drug
Kraemer said there is always ergogenics. Or, more colloquially, he said he had banned performance-enhancing drugs. However, he said the suspicions stemming from the success of older athletes are “the opposite bias of a very appropriate athlete.”
“Poor Joe Namas and Dick Butuks would have been successful for years, but they had the terrible orthopedic surgeon of the time,” Kremer said. “So we see how surgical interventions and sports medicine, exercise training, and physical therapy are rising too. That’s a whole other thing. We know a lot more about sports medicine.”
Boyle, a strength and conditioning coach, said, “It may have been my naiveness, but I think that’s not the case. But I think that’s really just the general nutrition knowledge that’s really on the rise. For example, I think there are few people looking for someone who is consistently eating better with secret pills.”
Will it rust or rest?
Eric Cressy, who runs high-performance facilities and works with major leaguers, cites the importance of load management.
It has become a controversial issue in the NBA, just to discover that the star players are on the bench, as fans are unhappy with buying game tickets. But James has embraced the need for more rest and recovery, one.
Then there is an extended rest.
Pacquiao said his four-year layoffs made his body fresh for his return. Williams looked fresh despite having not played singles matches since March 2024. Instead of rust, the fan may have seen the benefits of rest.
The value of rest may overturn the fear of rest.
“When you look at these aging athletes, the number one thing is volume management,” Cressy said.
Over the next three days, it appeared Williams, Hill and Pacquiao had turned their watch back.
“I don’t think these things will surprise me, just because I see players doing it at a really high level,” Cressy said. “And they’ll be getting more and more.”
If your father’s time is undefeated, as James likes to say, you might push it to the limit too. Check if your father’s time can’t be expanded in extra innings, overtime, another round, or another set of Venus Williams.
