Serena and Venus Williams to make doubles return for first time in four years
Serena and Venus Williams are set to resume their doubles partnership for the first time in four years after they were granted a wildcard to the Cincinnati Open.
The pair have won 14 major doubles titles together, including six at Wimbledon, plus three Olympic gold medals. This year’s tournament will mark their debut as a team in Cincinnati.
They last played doubles together at the US Open in 2022, where they lost to Czechs Lucie Hradecka and Linda Noskova in Serena’s final tournament before “evolving away” from the sport, until her sensational comeback on the grass this summer.
The sisters were granted a doubles wildcard while Venus was also given a singles wildcard. The 46-year-old reached the semifinals there in 2012 and quarterfinals in 2019.
Last month, the sisters had to withdraw from the doubles draw at Wimbledon as Serena, 44, suffered a knee injury in her first-round singles defeat to Australian Maya Joint.
The WTA 1000 event in Cincinnati runs from August 11 to 23 and could provide a stepping stone for Serena to return to the US Open, where she lost in the third round of singles to Ajla Tomljanovic four years ago.
The main draw for the final grand slam of the year begins on August 30.
Additional reporting by Reuters
