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The Jerusalem Post·Israel·Tuesday, August 18, 2026 at 09:30 AM

Williams sisters team up for first time in four years, lose in Cincinnati Open opening tennis match

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REUTERS

"I thought it was fun," Serena said. "I thought it was special. We kicked off a little rust in the middle of the match and just, you know, (we were) starting to feel it."

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Serena Williams and Venus Williams of the United States meet with Peyton Stearns of the United States and Marta Kostyuk of Ukraine, after their doubles match during the Cincinnati Open at Lindner Family Tennis Center, August 17, 2026.
Serena Williams and Venus Williams of the United States meet with Peyton Stearns of the United States and Marta Kostyuk of Ukraine, after their doubles match during the Cincinnati Open at Lindner Family Tennis Center, August 17, 2026.
(photo credit: Aaron Doster-Imagn Images TPX IMAGES OF THE DAY)
ByREUTERS

Nearly four years after the last time they teamed up to play doubles, Serena Williams and Venus Williams lost a first-round match to Peyton Stearns and Ukraine's Marta Kostyuk 6-2, 1-6, 1-0 (8) on Monday at the Cincinnati Open in Mason, Ohio.

"I thought it was fun," Serena said. "I thought it was special. We kicked off a little rust in the middle of the match and just, you know, (we were) starting to feel it. I didn't come out here to win this tournament. Winning is obviously great. But in this position just, you know, having fun. It was really cool to be able to do this again."

It was the third doubles match of the year for Serena, 44, who returned to the tour this year for the first time since 2022. She won a doubles match while teaming with Canada's Victoria Mboko in a Wimbledon warm-up tournament in London, but the pair couldn't compete in the next round after Mboko got hurt. Serena lost a first-round doubles match with the Czech Republic's Karolina Muchova in Berlin.

Serena has played just one singles match this year, a first-round loss to Australia's Maya Joint at Wimbledon. In that match, the 23-time major singles winner sustained an injury that kept her from competing with her sister in the Wimbledon doubles event.

Serena has yet to reveal her plans for the US Open, which starts on August 30.

A young fan holds a sign in support of the doubles match between Serena Williams and Venus Williams of the United States against Marta Kostyuk of Ukraine and Peyton Stearns of the United States during the Cincinnati Open at Lindner Family Tennis Center, August 17, 2026.
A young fan holds a sign in support of the doubles match between Serena Williams and Venus Williams of the United States against Marta Kostyuk of Ukraine and Peyton Stearns of the United States during the Cincinnati Open at Lindner Family Tennis Center, August 17, 2026. (credit: Aaron Doster-Imagn Images)

Venus ends match with double fault

Venus, 46, is 3-9 in doubles matches and 0-10 in singles matches in 2026.

On Monday, Stearns and Kostyuk jumped ahead 6-0 in the decisive first-to-10 tiebreaker that the pro tennis tours use in place of a third set in doubles. The Williams sisters rallied within 8-7 and 9-8 before Venus served a match-ending double fault.

Venus said, "It's our first time playing together in forever. It was great for us to get out there and do it."

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