Williams sisters lose 6-2, 1-6, 10-8 in Cincinnati in first doubles match together since 2022
Serena and Venus Williams were beaten 6-2, 1-6, 10-8 by Marta Kostyuk and Peyton Stearns in their first doubles match together since 2022 at the Cincinnati Open on 18 August 2026.
The reunion drew intense interest and was held on the tournament’s grandstand court rather than the main stadium; organisers said television contracts dictated the placement. Every seat in the 5,000-seater grandstand was full, with fans streaming from the adjoining 11,600-capacity stadium, and a plane carrying a banner advertising Serena’s endorsement of Ro circled the grounds for two days during the first round. The match was the pair’s first doubles outing in four years and only their second in the past decade.
The on-court action began unevenly: Venus held the opening game but the Williams sisters then dropped five straight games to fall 1-5. Serena’s lack of recent matchplay was noted early, with the younger Williams struggling for timing on groundstrokes and rhythm on serve, while Venus produced crisp shotmaking and strong reflex volleys.
They rebounded to take the second set and pushed the contest into a match tie-break, where they trailed 2-8 before mounting a near-comeback. The tie-break reached 8-9 before a double fault from Venus ended their rally and handed the victory to the wildcard pairing of Kostyuk and Stearns, who are both established singles players.
Serena framed the outing as more about enjoyment than results, saying: “Winning is obviously great,” said Serena. “But I think in this position, [we’re] just having fun. I didn’t come out here to win this tournament. Obviously, I wanted to do the best I could do, but I think having fun and also just seeing how we are and how we feel out there. Being out there with the fans, too, is just really good, just to give them another opportunity to see us play, which is really cool.”
Serena had returned to singles at Wimbledon last month, where she sustained a knee injury in her three set loss to Maya Joint and withdrew from a planned doubles match with Venus. “That was a little traumatic experience for me,” Serena said, smiling. “It took me two hours to leave the locker room that night and it’s been a long recovery, which is something I never thought I’d say because I never thought I’d be here sitting and talking to you all again. But, you know, what doesn’t kill you make you stronger.” She also posted on Instagram images of vials used to collect fluid from her knee and had said followers would see her soon on a court near them.
The match served as a reminder of the Williams sisters’ record as a partnership: they have won 14 grand slam doubles titles together, placing them joint-second in the open era among women’s doubles teams behind Martina Navratilova and Pam Shriver, have reached world No 1 and captured three Olympic women’s doubles gold medals, and their partnership has spanned four decades. “I think we waited a long time to get back on the doubles court, even this year,” said Venus. “I think eventually we would find our way to each other.”
The US Open will follow for both sisters, but it is unclear whether they will compete in singles, doubles, or both.