Serena Williams won her first match at Indian Wells since 2001 on Saturday (AEDT), beating Monica Niculescu in straight sets to end her 14-year self-imposed exile.
The 33-year-old American made an emotional return to the venue she once vowed never to go back to as she beat Niculescu 7-5 7-5 in a second round match lasting just more than two hours.
"It has been worth it coming back and being able to step back out here on the court and create some new memories," Williams said.
World No.1 Williams said she had tears in her eyes as she walked onto the court for her long-awaited return.
"The days, the weeks before, even just the reaction of just being here, I was really a little bit worried about it," Williams said.
"But then the moments before, I was warming up, I was in my match mode, so I didn't really think about it until I walked out on the court. It was like, Oh, it's happening."
While it was only half full at the time, many in the 16,000-seat stadium stood and clapped as Williams walked out onto the court.
As the match continued, and Williams's unforced errors added up, the yells of encouragement grew louder and louder.
It was a sharp contrast to her last Indian Wells appearance in 2001 when as a 19-year-old teenager she was booed after beating Kim Clijsters in the final.
But the positive reaction in 2015 was everything Williams had hoped for after she decided to bury the hatchet and end her 14-year boycott of the event.
"It felt great walking out here and everyone wishing me well," she said. "So many people came out. I appreciate the love."
Williams got off to an unexpected slow start against world No.68 Niculescu who won the first two games of the match and pushed the top seed in both sets.
Williams was playing in her first tournament since winning a sixth Australian Open title and 19th Grand Slam title by beating Maria Sharapova in January.
She became the second oldest Grand Slam champion of the Open Era behind Martina Navratilova at 1990 Wimbledon.
She has won 55 titles since last playing at Indian Wells, including 18 of her 19 Grand Slams but she said this win ranks "super high" on her all-time list.
"Just being here is enough," she said. "I don't feel like I need to win this.
"I don't feel like holding up the trophy is necessarily a win for me.
"I mean, things were weird and tough. But I was able to do the work."
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