There are plenty of reasons why this particular victory by Venus Williams in this particular tennis match — just one of hundreds — resonated with so many folks.

After Venus Williams’ four-matches-in-four-days return to professional tennis was over, after she was loudly feted by appreciative fans even after a loss in singles, the D.C. Open stadium announcer of...

“Each week that I was training, I was, like, ‘Oh, my God, I don’t know if I’m good enough yet,’ ” she told ESPN.