Williams sisters lose on doubles return

Serena and Venus Williams faced off against Marta Kostyuk and Peyton Stearns in their inaugural doubles match in four years at the Cincinnati Open. The American duo suffered a hard-fought 6-2 1-6 10-8 defeat. The sisters had last teamed up at the 2022 US Open, Serena's final tournament before stepping away from tennis. Serena returned to doubles play in June, followed by a wildcard singles appearance at Wimbledon.

Serena sustained a knee injury during her first-round loss to Maya Joint at Wimbledon, which forced her to withdraw from a planned doubles return with Venus. Both sisters expressed their excitement about returning to the doubles court, with Venus noting that they were finding their rhythm. The sisters were initially shaky in the first set, trailing 6-0, but managed to rally and force a 10-point tie-break in the third set.

Though they lost the tie-break, they fought back impressively and secured the victory on a Venus double fault. The sisters would need wildcards to compete in singles or doubles at the upcoming US Open, which starts on August 30. Serena has only played one singles match since returning, while Venus has lost her last 13 singles matches but had more success in doubles, reaching the quarter-finals at the US Open in 2022.