Venus Williams Confirms Engagement to Actor Andrea Preti: “He Encouraged Me to Keep Playing”

Tennis legend Venus Williams has officially confirmed she’s engaged to Italian actor and producer Andrea Preti.

The 45-year-old star shared the happy news after playing her first singles match in over a year on Tuesday, July 22, 2025. During a post-match interview, former pro Rennae Stubbs asked Williams how Preti has influenced her return to the sport.

“My fiancé is here, and he really encouraged me to keep playing,” Williams said, smiling. “There were so many times I just wanted to chill and coast. People don’t realize how hard this sport is. It’s basically a 9-to-5 where you’re constantly running, lifting weights, and dying — then you wake up and do it all again. He helped push me through it. He’s never even seen me play until now.”

The couple, who have kept their relationship largely private, were first linked in July 2024 when they were spotted boating off the Amalfi Coast. By February 2025, engagement rumors were swirling after Williams was seen wearing a diamond ring during a Milan Fashion Week appearance with Preti. The buzz only grew after they attended the Dsquared2 fashion show together, where she sported a different, square-cut diamond ring.

Preti, 37, is best known for his roles in the Italian drama A Professor and the film One More Day. While they’ve avoided the spotlight, their connection has clearly strengthened over the past year.

Williams’ engagement marks a major shift in her personal life. The seven-time Grand Slam champion had previously said she was content on her own. “I’m not desperate,” she told Cosmopolitan in 2021. “I like my life and don’t want to change it for any reason. My friends don’t believe me, but it’s true.”

In Glamour UK’s 2022 issue, she opened up about the challenge of shifting out of a long single streak: “It’s easy to get stuck in that life. It makes you think hard about what you want and how to behave.”

Now, she seems ready for a new chapter.

“When life changes, you’ve got to know when to change,” Williams said at the time. “You can’t hold on too tightly — whether it’s to a relationship or to being single.”

And with Preti by her side, it seems she’s embracing change with confidence and joy.