Serena, Venus Williams Suffer Cincinnati Defeat In First Doubles Match In Four Years

Serena and Venus Williams were beaten in a thrilling return to doubles action as Marta Kostyuk and Peyton Stearns defeated the American sisters 6-2, 1-6, 10-8 at the Cincinnati Open.

The defeat marked Serena and Venus’ first doubles match together since the 2022 US Open, when Serena ended her singles career. The sisters returned to the court in front of a packed crowd but could not complete a memorable comeback.

Kostyuk and Stearns dominated the opening set and took it 6-2 before Serena and Venus responded strongly in the second. The Americans raced through the set 6-1 to force a deciding 10-point tie-break.

The Ukrainian-American partnership appeared to have the match under control after opening a 6-0 lead in the tie-break. Serena and Venus refused to give in, fighting back to 8-8 as Serena produced two crucial service winners.

Kostyuk and Stearns held their nerve, however, and secured victory when Venus double-faulted on match point.

“We’ve waited a long time to get back on the doubles court. Eventually, we find our way to each other,” Venus said.

“We give each other so much grace and encouragement.

“This is our first time playing together in forever, and I think we’re really getting [into] our stride.”

Serena, who returned to competition in June after previously stepping away from tennis, said she enjoyed being back on court with her sister.

“I thought it was fun, it was special, it was good,” she said.

“We were starting to feel it. It was really cool to be able to do this again.”

The 44-year-old was playing her first match since Wimbledon, where she lost to Maya Joint in the first round after receiving a wildcard. She suffered a knee injury during the tournament, forcing her to abandon plans to partner Venus in doubles.

Venus, 46, has remained active on the tour and competed in singles and doubles at three hard-court events in recent weeks.

The sisters will need wildcards to compete in either singles or doubles at the US Open, which starts on 30 August.

The Williams sisters remain one of the most successful doubles partnerships in tennis history. They have won 14 Grand Slam doubles titles and three Olympic gold medals together.