"Pray for me, pray for health” – Venus Williams seeks fan support after first-round victory at Cincinnati Open, vows to keep playing

Venus Williams has called on her fans to pray for her health as she wishes to continue playing at the highest level.

Williams defeated Veronika Kudermetova 6-4, 7-5 in the first round of the Cincinnati Open on Monday, August 14, after she was drafted into the tournament as a wild card.

After the win, the former World No. 1 talked about continuously learning despite being vastly experienced.

"You play the point, you're, like, Why did I choose that shot selection? I know better," she said. "It's just learning, going back to matches. It's, like, Okay, next time I do that, I will do this, play better, and technical things too. The things, the match, serving well."

During her post-match press conference, Williams spoke about the improvement in her serve compared to the Canadian Open last week.

"You know, like, I had a great service game at 5-All," she said. "Last week I played in Montreal, got to 5-All, didn't have the greatest service game. So this week was better. It's step by step."

The 43-year-old also asked her fans to pray for her health.

"Unfortunately, with huge amounts of time off, that's just the price you have to pay. You have to learn again a lot of ways. Each time I play better. So I'm just telling everyone, Pray for me, pray for health, so I can keep stepping back into the arena," she said.

"Traumatized by Auckland and all those rain delays" - Venus Williams

Venus Williams in Auckland.

Following her first-round victory at Cincinnati Open, Venus Williams spoke about the injury she sustained in Auckland earlier this year following a rain delay.

"After I did that injury in Auckland, I knew it was bad," she said in a press conference. "Then I got an MRI the next day and I wasn't surprised that I was going to be out a while. I knew it was bad when I did it, especially walking off the court, I just knew."

Williams believes her level has improved since the start of the year but still fears rain delays.

"Yeah, I think I'm at a better level than I started the year, to be honest," she said. "I was actually worried about the rain delay, because I'm very traumatized by Auckland and all those rain delays and getting injured after that, like, cooling down and changing serves, going in. I'm, like, Oh, my God, I can't let that happen again to me."