Venus Williams was "really proud" of her effort in her Australian Open first-round exit, and claimed it was "super exciting" despite failing to hold out for a win.

Williams (45 years and 215 days) became the oldest player to appear in the women's singles main draw at the Australian Open during the Open Era on Sunday.

However, despite holding two strong leads in the match, she ultimately succumbed to a 6-7 (5-7) 6-3 6-4 loss to Olga Danilovic.

It was Williams' 22nd appearance at the Australian Open, the most among active players in the Open Era, and her first since 2021 after she accepted a wildcard for the major.

But even though she could not see out the win, despite holding a 4-0 lead in the third set, Williams says there are positives to take forward.

"At 4-0 [in the third set], I felt good," Williams, who will feature in women's doubles, said. "It's the biggest lead I've had since I've been back.

"In a lot of ways, I'm having to relearn how to do things again. I'm really proud of my effort because I'm playing better with each match, getting to the places that I want to get to.

An honour to watch you at Melbourne Park again, @Venuseswilliams  pic.twitter.com/iQ3oAwSQvk

— #AusOpen (@AustralianOpen) January 18, 2026

"Right now, I'm just going to have to keep going forward and working on myself and working to control my errors.

"Those are things that come with playing extra matches, like getting your feet in the right position, choosing the right shots, all of those things I'm still learning.

"It's weird, but it's super exciting to have played that well and to get myself in that position and come very close."

Danilovic has won nine of her 11 first-round matches at grand slam events and remains undefeated at this stage of the Australian Open (three wins).

"These things don't happen every day, and playing against Venus Williams is something that I cannot take for granted, but there were a lot of nerves," Danilovic said.

"At 0-4, I said to myself, 'Just play, just take everything out and play point by point'. I'm happy I managed to get this one, but it was such a pleasure playing against a legend."