Kamilla Rakhimova opened the National Bank Open women’s main draw on Sunday with a 6-4, 6-1 victory over Venus Williams in a rain-delayed match in Toronto, handing the American legend a defeat in what has become a difficult stretch of her later career.
Williams, 46, received a singles wild card into the WTA 1000 event and fell for the 12th consecutive time in a streak that began in July 2025. The result was not unexpected given the gap in current form between the two players, but Williams remains a figure whose presence fills center courts in a way that results alone cannot fully explain. The crowd in Toronto stayed with her through every point of the match, which she acknowledged warmly after it ended.
Rakhimova, a 24-year-old from Uzbekistan ranked 82nd in the world, handled the occasion with a composure that spoke well of her ability to manage the unusual environment of playing a beloved veteran on a center stage that would have been filled even without a competitive match on the line. She described the experience as something she had been looking forward to, noting that facing Williams was not something that comes around in the ordinary course of a professional tennis season.
Williams in the late stage of a celebrated career
Williams has been testing the competitive limits of her tennis longevity for several seasons, accepting wild card entries to tournaments that allow her to compete while the results increasingly reflect the distance between her current physical condition and the abilities of younger opponents. She has been open about the challenges and about how much she continues to love the sport, and the reception she receives from fans at major events suggests that her appeal exists well beyond what her current ranking can capture.
Twelve consecutive losses is a significant stretch, and the manner of Sunday’s defeat, a one-sided second set and a competitive but ultimately comfortable first for Rakhimova, reinforces the observation that Williams is operating at a level considerably below the standard of even the mid-tier of the WTA tour. Whether she continues to seek wild card entries or begins to transition fully away from the professional circuit is a question that only she can answer.
Rakhimova advances into the draw
For Rakhimova, the win represents a solid start to the Canadian hard court tournament, one of the more prestigious events on the calendar in the weeks leading into the U.S. Open. Ranked 82nd, she is not among the seeded players in the draw, but the National Bank Open field is strong enough that any run she makes from this point will require beating players who are ranked significantly above her.
The experience of playing a center court match in front of a large and vocal crowd, even against an opponent well past her prime, is the kind of professional moment that can benefit a younger player. Rakhimova described it that way herself, saying she had tried to enjoy the time regardless of the result. That she won in straight sets without being pushed into a third suggests she played freely rather than tentatively, which is its own useful data point heading into the rounds ahead.
A tournament that begins with history nearby
The National Bank Open is one of the few tournaments on the women’s calendar that generates consistent attention during the weeks between Wimbledon and the U.S. Open. The Toronto edition, which alternates with Montreal every year, typically draws a strong field of players eager to find their hard court form before the year’s final major.
Williams’s presence, even in defeat, added a layer of historical weight to the first round of the draw that a wild card from a lesser name would not have provided. The fans who came to see Williams play were not disappointed by the competition they witnessed. They simply saw a match that reflected the current reality of where she is in her tennis life.
