Emilia Arango defeats Venus Williams 6-2, 6-2 in Cincinnati; Williams extends losing streak to 14
Emilia Arango beat Venus Williams 6-2, 6-2 in 66 minutes at the ATP-WTA Cincinnati Masters on 14 August 2026, handing the seven-time major champion a 14th straight defeat dating to July of last year. The 46-year-old Williams, ranked 615th, has played and lost 11 matches this season while competing on organizer free entries.
Williams had been granted a wild card into the tournament, where she reached a semi-final 12 years earlier, but was unable to reverse a prolonged run of poor results. The Cincinnati event features 64 seeds in both the men’s and women’s draws and is described as the last major warm-up prior to the US Open on 30 August, with seeded players only set to enter from Saturday, focusing attention on early-round outcomes for high-profile names.
Czech Sara Bejlek produced a comprehensive win against compatriot Karolina Pliskova, the 2016 titleholder, defeating her 6-0, 6-2 and allowing Pliskova only two games in the first round.
Grigor Dimitrov, playing on a wild card, was beaten by Argentina’s Sebastian Baez 1-6, 6-3, 6-4 after surrendering a 4-1 lead in the deciding set and losing the final five games. The 35-year-old Dimitrov, whose ranking has fallen to 138, exited in the first round while Baez advances to face American Learner Tien, a semi-finalist this week in Montreal.
Stefanos Tsitsipas progressed with a 7-6 (7/4), 7-5 victory over France’s Valentin Royer, overcoming a late scare after leading a set and 5-2 and being broken while serving for the match. Royer saved two match points en route to 5-all, and Tsitsipas converted on his sixth match point to close the contest in two hours.
Tsitsipas described his tactics and mentality after the match: “I’m trying to come to the net as much as possible,” he said. “Whenever a ball is short I try to capture it inside the baseline. That’s where I shined the most. I felt confidence running through my veins. My offensive strategy helped me today, my composure was excellent.” He added: “It was nerve-wracking at the end with those match points I was not able to capture. It would have been easy to get tight. I had to remind myself to stay loose and play aggressive. If I was going to miss, at least I knew I had done the right thing.”
The Greek, who has slipped to 49th after a months-long slump in form, has lifted his ranking back to 49th following qualifying at the Montreal Masters, where he lost in the second round, and is now several months into a coaching split with his father. Tsitsipas’s next opponent in Cincinnati will be second seed Félix Auger-Aliassime.
Other winners included 2023 semi-finalist Hubert Hurkacz, who defeated qualifying lucky loser Sho Shimabukuro 6-2, 6-4, and Matteo Berrettini, who beat Thomas Droguet 3-6, 6-2, 6-4 in what was only his second match since Wimbledon due to injury.
Sebastian Baez will next play American Learner Tien, while Stefanos Tsitsipas moves on to meet Félix Auger-Aliassime as the tournament progresses toward the round featuring seeded entrants.
