Williams sisters fall short in doubles reunion at Cincinnati Open

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Serena and Venus Williams lost their first doubles match together since the 2022 US Open, falling 2-6, 6-1, 10-8 to Marta Kostyuk and Peyton Stearns on Monday night at the Cincinnati Open.

The sisters, playing on a wild card, dropped the first set before rallying to force a deciding match tiebreak. Kostyuk and Stearns raced to a 6-0 lead in the breaker, but the Williamses fought back to 9-8 before a double fault from Venus handed their opponents the win.

The match marked the sisters’ first pairing since their emotional farewell at the 2022 US Open, and their first appearance together at a non-Grand Slam event since the 2016 Italian Open. A planned reunion at Wimbledon this year had been scrapped after Serena withdrew from the doubles draw with a knee injury.

Serena, 44, is in the midst of a comeback season after returning to competitive tennis this summer, having previously partnered with Victoria Mboko at Queen’s Club and Karolína Muchová in Berlin. Venus, 46, also entered Cincinnati on a singles wild card.

Kostyuk and Stearns, both 24 and playing their first tournament as a pair, advance to face third seeds Kristina Mladenovic and Hanyu Guo in the second round.

Despite the loss, both sisters struck a positive tone afterwards. “Eventually we would find our way to each other,” Venus said. Serena added that the result was secondary to the experience of sharing the court again.

Reporting originally appeared via KBC Digital. Read the full source for additional context.