On June 17, legendary tennis player Venus Williams turned 45; on July 22, she made headlines by returning to the court after a 16-month hiatus.
At 20, Williams won her first U.S. Open and Wimbledon titles. Her first professional win was at age 14. When you were 20, you were probably in college or working your first job. When you were 14, you probably had braces and were a freshman in high school. But that’s what it’s like to be an athlete.
Athletes winning big before the age of thirty is very common: Philadelphia Eagles quarterback Jalen Hurts was 26 when he won the Super Bowl this year; basketball phenom Paige Bueckerswon a NCAA National Championship title with the University of Connecticut and was drafted first overall in the 2025 WNBA draft, all within the year she was 23, and Brazilian gymnast Rebecca Andrade won a gold medal at the 2024 Summer Olympics at 25. In fact, the podium Andrade appeared on last summer, alongside Simone Biles and Jordan Chiles was notably “old,” because Biles was 27 and Chiles was 23, and gymnasts are usually in their teens when they’re dominating Olympic podiums.
As athletes get older, the intensity of their sport takes a toll on them. Some athletes announce their retirement to share that they want to be able to pick up their kids without hurting their backs or their knees. As people age, their bodies show the wear and tear of daily life—something sports only intensify. That’s why it’s rare to see older players.
The current oldest active MLB player is Rich Hill, who made his season debut at the age of 45 (coincidentally during the same week Williams played in her most recent match)(**However, Hill was just designated for assignment by the Kansas City Royals). Quarterback Aaron Rodgers will be the oldest active NFL player when the football season starts in August; he’ll play for the Pittsburgh Steelers and will be 41 years old. Venus’ sister Serena Williams is the second-oldest U.S. Open winner, and she was only 32 when she won in 2014.
Last week, Williams played in the D.C. Open and returned to the Women’s Tennis Association Tour. She hasn’t played professionally in over a year, and she’s 45 years old—she was the oldest WTA match winner since 2004. She’s faced injuries throughout her year and hasn’t competed in so long because of the injuries. At the 2025 Met Gala, though, she denied retirement rumors and explained she’d return to play “when the time feels right.”
So, after sixteen months off the court, fans wondered what brought her back—and if the time felt right.
“I had to come back for the insurance—they informed me earlier this year that I’m on Cobra,” Williams said, in a post-match, on-court interview, to the crowd’s laughter. “I was like, ‘I got to get my benefits on.’ I started training!”
Like most employees in the United States, Williams had been covered by the WTA’s health insurance plan; WTA players who play a certain number of games in a calendar year and hold a certain rank are eligible for a “best in class” WTA health plan. Meanwhile, Cobra is a law that allows employees to keep insurance they got through a job, even after the job ends, but the employee must pay the premiums themselves. This means the person must pay more for their insurance.
This means a lot for Williams, who faces many ongoing injuries as mentioned above. And, just like any 45-year-old who isn’t an athlete, she may start to feel and see the physical toll of sports on her body. She needs to be covered by insurance to reduce out-of-pocket medical costs.
It’s even more important as someone who was diagnosed with Sjögren’s Syndrome in 2011. In March of this year, Just N Life Editor-in-Chief Nekia Nichelle announced her own diagnosis with the autoimmune disease that attacks moisture-producing glands. She explained her struggle with the disease and how she combats the chronic fatigue and joint pain.
“Watching Venus Williams compete at such a high level while managing Sjögren’s is beyond inspiring,” Nichelle said recently. “As someone who also lives with the condition, I know how draining it can be just to get through a regular day—let alone train, compete, and face the heat.”
With ongoing health challenges related to aging, being a pro-athlete, and living with Sjögren’s, the insurance opportunity provided through the WTA is so important.
Perhaps Williams, with a huge career, could afford to continue paying those out-of-pocket costs, as of 2022, she had earned over $42 million from her tennis career. But she wanted to continue to receive coverage from her job, just like so many other Americans.
It’s that drive to get what she wants that puts her in a position of inspiration for so many.
For someone suffering from the same condition, this is true.
“It’s not just about physical endurance; it’s about mental resilience. What’s even more heartbreaking is that she has to keep competing just to maintain her health insurance. That’s absolutely ridiculous,” Nichelle added. “No one should have to put their body through that kind of stress just to access care for a chronic illness. Venus is a reminder that aging or autoimmune challenges don’t define your limits—they just redefine how you rise above them.”
Social media users took to the Internet to express their admiration for Williams’s inspiration as well.
While Venus’ sister is the second-oldest U.S. Open winner, Venus Williams will be 45 when she competes with a wild card in the U.S. Open in August. Though her ranking is 541 right now, crazier things have happened; maybe Venus Williams will inspire us all and make it even further in the Open at the age of 45.
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