Serena and Venus Williams return to doubles and lose close match in Cincinnati
Serena and Venus Williams Return to Doubles in Cincinnati
Bharatmorningnews.com – Serena and Venus Williams returned to the doubles court for the first time since the 2022 U.S. Open on Monday night at the Cincinnati Open — and the evening closed with a gut-wrenching tiebreak defeat. The sisters lost to Marta Kostyuk and Peyton Stearns, 2-6, 6-1 (10-8), in a contest that stretched to the final point of a match tiebreak.
A Wild-Card Comeback After Years Apart
Serena, 44, had stepped away from professional tennis after 2022 before resurfacing this summer. The pair had originally planned to team up at Wimbledon, but a knee injury sustained during her singles exit forced a withdrawal. They ultimately entered Cincinnati via a wild-card slot, marking their first non-Grand Slam doubles appearance since the Italian Open in 2016. For Venus, 46, the decision to play doubles again with her sister felt inevitable.
“Eventually we would find our way to each other,” Venus said. “It’s our first time playing together in forever. It was great for us to get out there and do it.”
Serena framed the outing in terms of joy rather than trophies.
“I thought it was fun. I thought it was special. We kicked off a little rust in the middle of the match and just, you know, were starting to feel it. I didn’t come out here to win this tournament. Winning is obviously great. But in this position, just having fun — it was really cool to be able to do this again.”
The Tiebreak That Broke Hearts
Kostyuk, representing Ukraine, and Stearns, both 24, were competing in their very first tournament as a pairing. Stearns grew up in Mason, a Cincinnati suburb where the event is staged annually, giving the local crowd a natural affinity for the Williams sisters. Kostyuk and Stearns surged ahead 6-0 in the match tiebreak, but a run of consecutive double-faults by Kostyuk allowed the sisters to claw back to within 8-7. Serena then delivered a powerful overhead smash to make it 9-8, only for Venus to follow with a double-fault that sealed the loss.
“I kind of expected it but it stung a little bit that this is my hometown,” Stearns said about the pro-Williams crowd. “I won’t hold it against anyone. The crowd was going for them but we used it to our advantage and flipped the script.”
“The crowd got the show. They probably couldn’t ask for anything better. At the end a tiebreak is a lottery. You never know which way it’s going to go,” Kostyuk added.
Together, Venus and Serena have claimed 14 Grand Slam doubles titles and 22 overall. Every doubles title on Venus’s record has come with her sister, and the pair share three Olympic gold medals. Serena also added a title alongside Alexandra Stevenson at the 2002 Leipzig event.
FAQ
When did Serena and Venus Williams last play doubles together before Cincinnati? Their previous doubles partnership dates to the 2022 U.S. Open. Their most recent non-Grand Slam doubles appearance was at the Italian Open in 2016.
How did the Cincinnati match end? Kostyuk and Stearns took the first set 6-2, dropped the second 1-6, and then won the match tiebreak 10-8 after a dramatic sequence of double-faults and a final Venus error at 9-8.
Were Kostyuk and Stearns a new pairing? Yes. The Cincinnati Open was their first tournament together. Stearns, a native of Mason, Ohio, also had a hometown connection to the event’s venue.
What other notable results came from Monday’s Cincinnati session? Defending champion Iga Swiatek recovered from a set down to beat Maria Sakkari 4-6, 6-1, 6-1 for her eighth straight win. Elena Rybakina defeated Magdalena Frech 6-4, 7-6, and Jessica Pegula edged Emma Navarro 7-5, 6-2. In the men’s draw, Alexander Zverev extended his ATP-tour-leading streak to 46 wins by outlasting Terence Atmane 7-6 (4), 7-6 (6).