Venus and Serena Williams were defeated in a closely contested first-round women’s doubles match at the Cincinnati Open, falling to Ukraine’s Marta Kostyuk and American Peyton Stearns on August 18.
The Williams sisters played their first match together since the 2022 US Open, producing a three-set scoreline of 6-2, 1-6, 10-8. They ultimately fell two points short of advancing to the second round.
Having received a wildcard entry to the tournament, which is often considered a warm-up event for the US Open starting in six days, the pair aimed to build on the energy from the crowd and progress further. Despite their loss, the sisters demonstrated moments of the skill that made them multiple Grand Slam champions and one of the most decorated sibling duos in sport.
Kostyuk and Stearns will face the number three seeds, Kristina Mladenovic and Hanyu Guo, in the next round.