Anastasia Potapova was left speechless after she claimed her first-ever win at the Washington Open by beating Venus Williams in straight sets.

Having held a 0-3 record in the United States capital before this year's tournament, Potapova ran out a 6-3 6-3 winner over Williams in one hour and 15 minutes.

The pair were evenly matched in the beginning, but Potapova eventually gained an edge in the seventh game with a break to love and finished the first set with a four-game winning streak.

Potapova stretched that winning streak to seven games as she raced into a 3-0 lead in the second set before Williams managed to get on the board.

The 41-year-old then held form to defend two match points on her serve in the eighth game, but she could only delay the inevitable as Potapova served out the match.

Late night dub with Potapova

Potapova d. V.Williams 6-3, 6-3#MubadalaDCOpen pic.twitter.com/HRGg8JlLYx

— wta (@WTA) July 29, 2026

"I have no words because growing up, I was always looking at her and how she was winning all these tournaments, and now I'm playing against her," Potapova said in her on-court interview.

"I'm super happy that I got a chance to play her. She's incredible.

"It was a little bit messy with the rain because I didn't get my warm-up on the court before the match, so I had to go and play without the warm-up. I think that's why I had a slow start, if you can call it that."

Williams' woes go on

It has now been a year since Williams last won on the WTA Tour in women's singles events – that victory came in her first match back when she defeated Peyton Stearns at the Washington Open last year.

She is now on a 12-match losing streak, going 0-9 in 2026 so far, and has only won four sets of 22 played this calendar year.

Williams struggled for large parts against Potapova, hitting nine winners and committing 19 unforced errors, though was strong on first serve. She won 78% of those points (29/37), but struggled on her second, winning just 24% (7/29).

Potapova, meanwhile, landed just 44% of her first serves but won 95% of those points (19/20). She also won 68% of her second-serve points (17.25) and did not face a break point.