Williams sisters reunite on doubles court, but fall short in Cincinnati Open
Serena and Venus Williams made a thrilling return to doubles action at the Cincinnati Open, but ultimately lost to Marta Kostyuk and Peyton Stearns.
The highly anticipated doubles return of Serena and Venus Williams ended in defeat at the Cincinnati Open, as the American pair fell to Marta Kostyuk and Peyton Stearns in a thrilling match.
The sisters, who last played together at the 2022 US Open, made a poor start against their Ukrainian-American opponents, but quickly shook off what Serena called "a little rust" in the second set. They fought back impressively, but ultimately fell short in the deciding 10-point tie-break.
"We've waited a long time to get back on the doubles court. Eventually, we find our way to each other," Venus said, reflecting on the pair's reunion.
The sisters have been working to rebuild their partnership, with Serena making her return first in doubles in June before playing singles at Wimbledon as a wildcard. However, a knee injury in her first-round loss to Maya Joint at SW19 ruled her out of a planned doubles return with Venus.
Despite the loss, the Williams sisters were thrilled to be back on the doubles court together. "I thought it was fun, it was special, it was good," Serena said. "We were starting to feel it. It was really cool to be able to do this again."
The pair's next challenge will be to secure wildcards for the US Open, which begins on Sunday, 30 August. Serena has only played one singles match since her return, while Venus has lost her past 13 singles matches but has had more success in the doubles, reaching the quarter-finals of the women's tournament in New York last year.
In other news from the Cincinnati Open, world number two Elena Rybakina beat Magdalena Frech 6-4 7-6 (7-2) either side of a lengthy rain delay to reach the fourth round. Rybakina could replace Aryna Sabalenka at the top of the world rankings in Cincinnati, but would need to reach the final to have a chance at surpassing Sabalenka.
| Singles Match Results | | --- | --- | | Elena Rybakina | beat Magdalena Frech 6-4 7-6 (7-2) | | Iga Swiatek | beat Maria Sakarri 4-6 6-1 6-1 | | Jessica Pegula | beat Emma Navarro 7-5 6-2 |
The Cincinnati Open continues, with several top players still in contention for the title.
