Venus and Serena Back in Doubles: Cincinnati Debut

Venus and Serena Williams are back together at the Cincinnati Open: the first-round doubles match against Marta Kostyuk and Peyton Stearns is scheduled on the Grandstand in Mason, not before 1 a.m. Italian time on Tuesday 18 August. It's the first time the sisters have played together since the first round of the 2022 US Open, when they lost 7-6(5), 6-4 to Lucie Hradecka and Linda Noskova on Arthur Ashe.

The tournament announced the wild card on Monday, August 3. Serena did not receive a singles invitation, but Venus did, and used it on Friday against Emiliana Arango: 6-2, 6-2 for the Colombian in 66 minutes. The two had never played doubles together in Cincinnati.

The reunion comes six weeks after their Wimbledon withdrawal. On July 4, Serena pulled out of the doubles with a swollen knee picked up during her singles match, while the match against Camila Osorio and Solana Sierra had already been moved to Saturday to give her an extra day to recover.

Across the net she'll find a hometown player, since Stearns grew up in Cincinnati and sits inside the top 60 of the rankings. The Williams sisters bring 14 Grand Slam doubles titles and three Olympic golds to the court, with their last Major won at Wimbledon in 2016.