WASHINGTON, D.C. -- One hour before the first ball of qualifying was struck on Saturday morning, there was already a good crowd pressing against the fence behind Practice Court No. 4.

The long limbs and the booming serves looked eerily familiar, even if the electric lime-green tennis ensemble did not. Yes, it was seven-time Grand Slam champion Venus Williams, limbering up for her first official action in 16 months at the WTA 500 Mubadala Citi DC Open.

Twenty-four hours later, she was out on a yawning but empty Fitzgerald Stadium, accompanied by a few support staff and some workers in preparation for what looks like a Tuesday first-round match with Peyton Stearns. Williams, 45, took a wild card into this 13^th iteration of the Rock Creek Park event.

 A few hours later, she met the media in a rollicking, sometimes bemused, wide-ranging press conference.

“Hello everybody,” Williams said, “Long time no see.”

And then she explained why it was important for her to return to tennis, if only briefly.

“When I went to Wimbledon this year, I was there for a day, and it was so beautiful and exciting,” Williams told reporters. “I remembered all the times that I had, and of course the adrenaline, all those things. I think just the pure fun of playing the game, the fun of the challenge, overcoming -- when you play, you overcome so many challenges: your opponents, the conditions, a lot of times you have to overcome yourself. 

“Those things are very exciting.”

How to frame this celestial visit?

With five Wimbledon titles and two at the US Open, Williams’ seven majors equal the rest of the entire field here, including four-time Grand Slam champion Naomi Osaka. And then there are a staggering 16 major doubles titles to consider. And, oh, four Olympic gold medals.

It’s sort of like a visit from a former president -- if he was still presiding. Maybe more like royalty and a visit from the Queen. In today’s age of super-saturation, of social media overload, Venus Williams is that rarest of things: a mystery, an enigma.

“I keep my cards close,” is how she succinctly put it.

After winning the last of her 49 Hologic WTA Tour singles titles, Williams last played a full schedule in 2019, going a credible 19-15 -- at the age of 39. She’s played 37 matches in the intervening six years (winning only seven), two in 2024, at Indian Wells and Miami.

According to tournament chairman Mark Ein, Williams approached him for the wild card. Ein, Williams said, has offered her one almost every year since she played for the Washington Kastles of World Team Tennis for eight seasons between 2010 and 2019.

“I remember my first time coming here, I was about 13 years old -- so definitely a love affair with D.C.,” Williams said. “This is very special for me to come back and play tennis. I think it's a surprise for the fans and a surprise in general.

“In this last year, I have been through a lot physically, as well. So to come back and be able to play and hopefully enjoy myself is a great opportunity, so I’m very grateful to the tournament for the wild card.”

Back in the spring, Williams called Ein.

“She said, 'Hey, if I want to play the tournament this summer, will you have me?'' Ein said Sunday. “And then every couple of months we would do a check-in. And then two weeks ago, she said, ‘I’m ready to go.’

“I know she has a real desire to continue to find opportunities to play. If that’s something she wants, she’s earned the right to have it. She’s had a real presence in Washington for a long time. She’s been involved in local charities here, been involved in our community. And I don’t think she’s done with wanting to be out there on the court, doing what she’s loved doing her whole life.”

Among the many inspired by the example of Venus and younger sister Serena, are three Black women who grew up or spent time learning tennis in the D.C. area -- Hailey Baptiste, Clervie Ngounoue and Taylor Townsend. They all acknowledge their debt to the Williams sisters and have, in their own terms, paid it forward.

Surrounded by family and friends, Williams said she feels like she’s playing at home. She’s well aware of her impact -- but it wasn’t the original goal.

“That was not what I thought would happen in my life,” Williams said. “As a young person, I wanted to play the game, be a champion. I loved the game so much, I didn’t realize that it would be so much bigger than myself.

“And seeing these young women doing positive things with their life, winning tournaments, inspiring the next generation, too, it’s like I could have never imagined that. So it’s like icing on the cake, cherries on top with the nuts and all the fixings. It’s beautiful.”

Williams has a lot going on in her life. She runs V Starr Interiors, an interior design company and reportedly is marrying Italian actor Andrea Preti this September on the Amalfi Coast.

Why take another victory lap, another encore bow for a professional tennis life exceptionally well lived? Why subject yourself to the summer heat and humidity in the nation’s capital and grind out there on a tennis court?

Why?

Venus Williams beamed and said, 'Why not?”