‘It was fun’: Serena, Venus Williams fall in thriller return match at Cincinnati Open

Ohio: Serena and Venus Williams played their first doubles match together since the 2022 U.S. Open, falling in a thriller 2-6, 6-1, 10-8 to Marta Kostyuk and Peyton Stearns on Monday night at the Cincinnati Open.

The sisters nearly wiped out a 6-0 deficit in the tiebreaker before a double-fault from Venus Williams concluded their first doubles appearance in a non-Grand Slam event since the Italian Open in 2016.

“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 (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.”

Serena had been away from competitive tennis since 2022 before returning this summer at age 44. The sisters originally intended to team up at Wimbledon but withdrew after Serena sustained a knee injury during her singles defeat. They were granted a wild card for Cincinnati.

“Eventually we would find our way to each other,” the 46-year-old Venus said regarding their decision to reunite on court. “It's our first time playing together in forever. It was great for us to get out there and do it.”

Kostyuk and Stearns, both 24, are pairing up for the first time in tournament play. Kostyuk represents Ukraine, while Stearns was raised in the Cincinnati suburb of Mason, where the annual competition takes place.

“I kind of expected it, but it stung a little bit that this is my hometown,” Stearns remarked about the overwhelming support for the Williams sisters. “I won't hold it against anyone. The crowd was going for them, but we used it to our advantage and flipped the script.”

After surrendering the opening set, the Williams duo dominated the second set to force the match tiebreaker.

Kostyuk and Stearns established a 6-0 advantage, but back-to-back double-faults by Kostyuk allowed the Williams sisters to narrow the deficit to 8-7. They pulled within 9-8 following a decisive overhead smash from Serena before Venus served a final double-fault.

“The crowd got the show,” Kostyuk said. “They probably couldn’t ask for anything better. At the end, a tiebreak is a lottery. You never know which way it’s going to go.”

Venus and Serena have captured 14 Grand Slam doubles titles and 22 overall. Serena claimed one additional doubles title alongside Alexandra Stevenson at Leipzig in 2002, whereas all of Venus' doubles trophies have been earned alongside her sister. The pair also hold three Olympic gold medals in doubles.

In singles action, Serena has accumulated 23 Grand Slam titles, while Venus has won seven.

In other Monday fixtures, defending Cincinnati champion Iga Swiatek recovered from a set down to claim her eighth straight victory, triumphing over Maria Sakkari 4-6, 6-1, 6-1.

Second seed Elena Rybakina defeated Magdalena Frech 6-4, 7-6, whilst third-ranked Jessica Pegula overcame fellow American Emma Navarro 7-5, 6-2.

In the men's draw, world No. 3 and top seed Alexander Zverev notched his ATP Tour-leading 46th victory of the season, holding off Terence Atmane 7-6 (4), 7-6 (6).

AP