Venus still hungry by working to "be fit and stay hot, like, why not?"

It’s been 10 years since seven-time major singles champion Venus Williams last played in Acapulco, when she successfully defended her title at the WTA International hard-court event.

The former No. 1 returns this week as one of the biggest names competing in either draw. The 39-year-old has played just one match so far this season, losing to 15-year-old Coco Gauff for the second time in three Grand Slam first-round meetings at Melbourne Park. Since 2017, Williams has kept her appearances in between the Australian Open and Indian Wells to a minimum: in 2017, she lost in the first round of St. Petersburg and a later year, represented the U.S. for a Fed Cup tie in Asheville, NC.

“I stopped playing in February. I would play in January, take a break in February, play in March and take another break in April,” Williams told Prakash Amritraj. “I think a lot of it was coming out of my February break and kind of looking at where I could go, where I could play, and this was my first choice.”

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For more than four years, Williams has been stuck on 49 career singles crowns, with her last triumph coming in early February 2016 at Kaohsiung. Though her ranking has slipped to No. 64, Williams is staying true to the philosophy that has served her exceptionally for 25 years as a professional.

“Every day is a new day that you have to believe in yourself and a new day that you can doubt yourself. How I feel about all of that, is that I work on it every day,” said Williams. “Especially in a sport, there’s so many ups and downs with performance, how you feel, your health, so many different things that people don’t necessarily see. So trying to manage all of that and keep your self-belief is the first thing you have to do.”

Williams hasn’t lost her sense of humor, either. When asked about how she persists with staying on top of her game for so many years, the American told Amritraj, “It’s so easy to keep that focus. When your job is just to be fit and stay hot, like, why not? My job is to keep the abs and the arms going.”

She then added, “I’m not as good as you. I’ve asked like numerous times on this.”

Amritraj responded, “We’ll get that gym session in,” but Williams was quick to turn him down.

“It’s too late, I don’t want it anymore. I’ve moved on,” she laughed.

Seeded No. 5, Williams opens her campaign against qualifier Kaja Juvan on Tuesday.