Serena and Venus Williams Fall Short in Doubles Return at Cincinnati Open

CINCINNATI — After a long hiatus, Serena and Venus Williams played their first doubles match together since the 2022 U.S. Open, suffering a narrow defeat to Marta Kostyuk and Peyton Stearns with a score of 2-6, 6-1 (10-8) on Monday night at the Cincinnati Open. The match marked their first appearance in a non-Grand Slam event since 2016, entering as wild cards.

The Williams sisters, who have not partnered in doubles for years, faced a significant challenge as they trailed 6-0 in the match tiebreaker. Despite making a strong effort to recover, their comeback was cut short after a double-fault by Venus Williams sealed the loss. “Eventually, we would find our way to each other,” Venus, 46, expressed about their decision to team up again. “It’s our first time playing together in forever. It was great for us to get out there and do it.”

Serena, 44, had been away from the tour since 2022 before returning this summer. The sisters had intended to compete together at Wimbledon but were forced to withdraw after Serena injured her knee during her singles match.

Kostyuk and Stearns, both 24, played their first tournament together, with Stearns hailing from Cincinnati and Kostyuk representing Ukraine. After losing the first set, the Williams made a strong comeback in the second set, forcing a match tiebreak. Kostyuk and Stearns initially surged ahead to a 6-0 lead in the tiebreak, but a series of double-faults from Kostyuk allowed the Williams duo to narrow the gap to 8-7. The tiebreak reached 9-8 after a powerful overhead from Serena, but a critical double-fault from Venus concluded the match.

The Williams sisters have a combined total of 14 Grand Slam doubles titles and 22 overall titles, with Venus winning all her doubles titles with her sister. Serena also boasts 23 singles Grand Slam titles, while Venus has secured seven.

In other results from Monday, defending Cincinnati champion Iga Swiatek rallied from a set down to win against Maria Sakkari, posting a score of 4-6, 6-1, 6-1 for her eighth consecutive victory. No. 2 seed Elena Rybakina triumphed over Magdalena Frech 6-4, 7-6, and third-ranked Jessica Pegula defeated American Emma Navarro 7-5, 6-2. In men’s singles, world No. 3 and top seed Alexander Zverev achieved his ATP-leading 46th match of the season, overcoming Terence Atmane with a score of 7-6 (4), 7-6 (6).

Special Credits: Image Courtesy of Espn