Venus finds victory despite defeat at Indian Wells

INDIAN WELLS, Calif.—Venus Williams didn’t win her return match at Indian Wells, falling to qualifier Kurumi Nara, 6-4, 6-3, but said just returning to the tournament was a victory for her.

Williams received a long round of applause from a partly-filled but enthusiastic stadium for her first appearance at the event in 15 years. The seven-time Grand Slam singles champion smiled at the reception, gesturing to the crowd.

"I'm a person that's not into the spotlight so much," she said following the match, "so I guess such a warm welcome I actually felt a little shy."

"I think I smiled the whole warmup," she added. "I had to get my game face on."

It was very different from Williams’ usual pre-match routine, and for a change she took in the atmosphere. "When you get out there to play it's just no nonsense, you know,” she said. “It was wonderful to be able to enjoy a moment."

Though Williams fell in straight sets, the 35-year-old said another return to Indian Wells isn’t out of the picture. "Doesn't mean that I can't come back next year and try to do even better,” she said.

Until her younger sister Serena returned to the tournament a year ago, the Williamses had not played Indian Wells since 2001, when they were booed in the final following Venus' withdrawal from her semifinal against Serena the day before.

It was Serena's well-received return that convinced her sister to also come back. "She had such a warm welcome, I definitely thought to myself, I've got no reason not to go anymore," said Venus.

Their successful returns showed there had been progress from both sides, according to Venus. "It's a two-way street,” she said. “We could have come back here and everyone could have picked up where they left off.

But everyone was welcoming, and also for us, we could have never come back. But we came back."