Venus Williams has added a new milestone to a life already rich with them, announcing Tuesday that she has married Italian actor and model Andrea Preti after a weekend-long celebration in Palm Beach, Florida.
The seven-time Grand Slam singles champion confirmed on social media that she and Preti became husband and wife over the weekend, capping a five-day gathering that blended family, fashion and Florida roots.
The location carried personal weight for Williams, who grew up training in the state alongside her sister Serena, and turned the wedding into both a celebration and a homecoming.
The marriage follows a year in which Williams has balanced deeply personal joy with a defiant return to professional tennis.
In July, at age 45, she became the second-oldest woman in the Open Era to win a tour-level singles match, doing so at the Mubadala Citi DC Open in Washington after 16 months away from competition.
Preti, watching her play live for the first time, was seated in the stands as Williams credited him afterward for urging her not to walk away from the grind of the sport. “There were so many times where I just wanted to coast,” she said then. “He encouraged me to get through this.”
Preti, 37, is a Danish-born Italian actor, model and producer whose career spans film, television and fashion.
Born in Copenhagen and raised partly in Italy, he later trained in New York and built his professional life largely in Europe.
The couple met in 2024 at a VIP after-party following a Gucci show during Milan Fashion Week, a chance encounter that quickly turned serious.
Williams later said she knew she would marry him after early dates in London that also won over her family.
Preti proposed in January 2025 during a trip to Tuscany, encouraging Williams to “make a wish” before revealing the engagement ring.
She kept the news private for months before confirming it publicly in July, shortly after her win in Washington.
The Palm Beach celebration followed an earlier ceremony in Italy, arranged amid legal and scheduling constraints, and brought together family and close friends for days of events that culminated in vows exchanged in both English and Italian.
While Williams has long guarded her private life, the marriage opens a new chapter alongside a career that continues to defy convention.
A former world No. 1, four-time Olympic gold medalist and central figure in the fight for equal prize money, she plans to begin her 33rd consecutive season on the WTA Tour in January at the ASB Classic in Auckland.
