Venus Williams Announces Engagement to Actor Andrea Preti After Triumphant Tennis Return

• Venus Williams finally confirmed her engagement to actor Andrea Preti, ending months of speculation
• In a post-match interview on Tuesday, the 45-year-old tennis star said that her 37-year-old boyfriend had proposed to her
• The couple ignited engagement rumours for the first time in February, when Williams was spotted with a diamond sparkler on her finger

Venus Williams has announced that she is engaged to her actor boyfriend Andrea Preti, moments after winning her first tennis match in 16 months following a health scare last year.

After going back in time to defeat Peyton Stearns, who is 22 years her junior, in straight sets at the Citi Open in Washington, D.C., Williams, 45, revealed the information. Her final performance was in March 2024, and during that period, she underwent surgery to remove uterine fibroids.

She informed the audience following her victory that she is now engaged and that Preti, 37, had been a major source of inspiration during her recovery.

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"My fiancé is here and he really encouraged me to keep playing," she said to huge cheers and applause.

“There were so many times where I just wanted to coast and kind of chill. Do you know how hard it is to play tennis? You guys don’t know how much work goes into this, like it’s 9 to 5 except you’re running the whole time.

“Lifting weights and just like dying and then you repeat it the next day. So he encouraged me to get through this and it’s wonderful to be here. He’s never seen me play.”

In February, Williams was seen practicing in Italy with a massive ring on her wedding finger, sparking speculation that Preti had proposed. While it is unclear when the pair got engaged, previous rumours appear to be genuine.

Williams has always kept her romantic life private, but when she and Preti were photographed on vacation near the Amalfi coast last summer, rumours about their relationship grew.

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According to IMDb, Preti was born in Denmark and later migrated to Italy as a youngster.

Happiness away from the court has come at a tough time for the tennis star. Williams opened up about her health condition in July, stating that her fibroids caused heavy bleeding and terrible cramps, which had a significant influence on her life, much alone her tennis career, but doctors were consistently dismissive of her symptoms.

“As bad as things were for me, crazy amounts of bleeding like you couldn’t imagine … my doctors told me it was normal,' she told NBC News. 'No one should have to go through this. You don’t have to live this way.”

Now, she says, she is 'praying for good health' during the twilight of her career.

Williams spoke on Monday after winning the Citi Open doubles, revealing how her perspective on her game has shifted following her health crisis.

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“Where I am at this year is so much different where I was at last year. It’s night and day, being able to be here and prepare for the tournament as opposed to preparing for surgery a year ago,” she said.

"At the end of the day, it doesn’t really matter if your health is not there. So, it definitely put it in perspective for me and maybe made it easier to make the decision to maybe come back out here and maybe play even freer."

While her sister, Serena, is married to Reddit founder Alexis Ohanian, Venus has remained single for much of her athletic career.

However, in October 2022, she confessed that she was ready to settle down with the appropriate partner.

Serena Williams crip walks on stage

Meanwhile, Legit.ng reported that American rapper Kendrick Lamar’s beef with Drake was taken to new levels at the Super Bowl Halftime performance.

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The Canadian rapper’s ex-girlfriend, Serena Williams, crip walked on the main stage as Kendrick Lamar performed the diss track, Not Like Us.

Videos of Serena Williams’ dance moves at the Super Bowl trended on social media and raised a series of reactions

Proofreading by Funmilayo Aremu, copy editor at Legit.ng.

Source: Legit.ng