Venus Williams returned to Indian Wells at the BNP Paribas Open for the first time in over a decade, but her time at the tournament was short lived. Williams lost in the second round 6-4, 6-3 to Japanese qualifier Kurumi Nara Friday night.
Williams was not able to get in a consistent rhythm during the match, putting a number of shots long and wide. The weather on Friday was a bit of a mixed bag with high winds and a rain delay that stopped the match in the middle of the first set. The delay surely didn't help Williams get things going, and Nava was accurate and did not miss many shots throughout the match.
However, the weather and the results of the match did not bother Williams, who said that she was glad to be back at the tournament. Williams said that the atmosphere was "wonderful" and that it was a "blessing" to be able to participate again.
"Just being here, just being on the practice court and on site has been so positive and such a great experience," Williams said. "It just shows that, yeah, you know, that you can always come back home, I guess. You can always go home."
Williams came back to Indian Wells for the first time since 2001, when she and her sister Serena Williams were jeered by the crowd. Williams withdrew from the semifinal match against her sister the last time she was in the tournament, which prompted a harsh reaction from the crowd. Both Williams sisters did not participate in the tournament for years after that incident.
Serena returned last year for the first time, and her sister Venus followed suit this year. Williams put all that behind her once she stepped out onto the Indian Wells Tennis Garden court. Venus wrote earlier this month about her decision in an essay on The Players' Tribune website.
"I remember leaving Indian Wells in 2001 feeling like I wasn't welcome there," she wrote. "Not feeling welcome somewhere is a hard memory to let go of - at any age. At 20? It's almost impossible. And so that's what I did. I held onto it."
Serena played later in the day, winning over qualifier Laura Siegemund of Germany in a second round match 6-2, 6-1. In other results, Agnieszka Radwanska advanced over Dominika Cibulkova, while Petra Kvitova won against Danka Kovinic.
