After their planned comeback at Wimbledon failed to materialise, the Williams sisters returned to competitive action for the first time in almost four years at the Cincinnati Open.
44-year-old Serena Williams and 46-year-old Venus Williams have won 14 Grand Slam titles, which make them one of the most successful teams in the Open Era. On top of this, they have also won three Olympic gold medals together during their careers. Despite both being in their 40s, the duo continue to make occasional appearances on the Tour, with Cincinnati being their latest stop.
On Monday, they put up a stern fight before getting edged out by Peyton Stearns and Marta Kostyuk 6-2, 1-6, 10-8. In the 10-point tiebreaker, they were down 0-6 before fighting back to close the gap to 7-8. However, it was not enough to turn the match around.
“It was fun. I thought it was special. I thought it was good,” Serena said afterwards.
“We kicked off a little rust in the middle of the match and we’re starting to feel it.
“It was really cool to be able to do this again.”
Monday’s clash marked the first time Sertena had played since losing in the first round at Wimbledon to Australia’s Maya Joint. Shortly afterwards, she sustained a knee injury and was forced to withdraw from the doubles event, which she planned to play alongside Venus. The last time they played together at a Grand Slam was at the 2022 US Open.
“That was a little traumatic experience for me. Took me like two hours to leave the locker room that night, and it’s been a long recovery,” Serena commented on her Wimbledon setback.
“I never thought I’d be here sitting talking to you all (the media) again.
“But what doesn’t kill you makes you stronger, and so it’s good.”
For Venus, their return has been a long time coming. Unlike Serena, she also competed in the singles draw where she was beaten by Colombia’s Emiliana Arango in the first round. Venus is currently on a 14-match losing run in singles, which is one of the longest runs in the Open Era but is still a long way from Madeleine Pegel’s record of 29 consecutive defeats.
“I think the approach is definitely the same, the process and the method, and I think that I take a lot of joy, and perhaps Serena too, in the process,” said Venus.
“We’ve waited a long time to get back on the doubles court even this year. I think eventually we would find our way to each other.”
The Williams sisters have a strong chance of returning to the US Open via wild card, should they both want to do so. Neither of them has commented on their plans for the major, which starts at the end of this month.
“I’m enjoying the process a little bit more than I ever have, and it’s kind of just having a different view of it,” Serena explains.
“This isn’t forever. This is, like, not long, so it’s also just fun to know that, too.
“I’m not playing every week, I’m not showing up every week. I have kids, so it’s a little bit different.”
