Venus and Serena Williams’ much-anticipated return to the doubles court ended quickly on Monday night, with Cincinnati native Peyton Stearns and partner Marta Kostyuk taking a 6-2, 1-6, 10-8 win at the Cincinnati Open. This marked the first time the legendary sisters had played a doubles match together since 2022, and it was a tough break right out of the gate.
The Fight on the Court
Things looked pretty bleak for the Williams sisters in the first set, with Kostyuk and Stearns rolling to an easy 6-2 lead. It felt like they might just steamroll them. But you know Venus and Serena, they don’t go down without a fight. They absolutely stormed back in the second set, dominating 6-1 to force a deciding tiebreaker. The crowd was buzzing, no doubt. However, that momentum couldn’t quite carry them through. Stearns and Kostyuk snatched six straight points to start the tiebreaker, and even though the Williams sisters pushed it to 8-7, Venus committed a double fault on the final serve. That was the game, set, match right there. Tough way to end a comeback.
Individual Comebacks and Struggles
This doubles match was a big moment, especially for Serena. She, now 44, announced back in June that she was coming out of retirement to play again. She’d already teamed up with Victoria Mboko at the HSBC Championships as a doubles wild card, and played her first singles match since the 2022 US Open at Wimbledon. That Wimbledon singles match saw Maya Joint beat her, breaking an 11-match skid for Joint. Venus, at 46, also earned a wild-card entry into the Cincinnati Open singles tournament, but Emiliana Arango took her down in straight sets on Friday. That’s a brutal 13th straight singles loss for Venus, who hasn’t secured a singles win since July 2025.
Even without the win, seeing Venus and Serena back on the court together delivered some serious nostalgia for tennis fans. After months of waiting, their comeback is officially on, and all eyes are on a potential US Open return for them later this month. You know everyone is hoping for some more magic from these two.
This article was created with AI assistance and published under Seattle On Tap’s editorial standards. See our Editorial Policy.
Originally reported by Yahoo Sports.
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