Venus Williams has claimed victory in her opening match of the inaugural WTA Elite Trophy with a come-from-behind victory over fellow American Madison Keys in Zhuhai.

The first three games of the match were all breaks as Keys moved 2-1 ahead before snapping Williams's serve for a third time in the seventh game to move 5-2 in front.

Williams got one break back straight away, but then failed to consolidate as Keys broke for a fourth time to take the opener 6-3.

The pair shared two breaks each in the second set, so a tie-break was needed to either seal victory for Keys or send the match to a deciding third set.

At the first change of ends Williams led 4-2 and although Keys pulled it back to 4-4, Williams won three of the next four points to clinch it 7-5.

The momentum was with the 35-year-old and she dominated the final set, racing out to 5-0 lead before closing it out 6-1 in a little over two hours.

Williams gets revenge for her defeat to Keys at the Australian Open earlier this year and moves to the top of Group A in the tournament.