Serena and Venus Williams were united in their excitement at sharing a court again despite suffering an agonising defeat in their first doubles match together for four years.
The legendary American sisters made their long-awaited reunion at the Cincinnati Open but were denied a winning comeback after Marta Kostyuk and Peyton Stearns prevailed 6-2 1-6 10-8.
A packed crowd watched Serena and Venus recover from a difficult opening set and then threaten a remarkable comeback in the deciding tie-break.
Their appearance represented another significant moment in Serena’s unexpected return to tennis.
The 44-year-old had not partnered her older sister competitively since the 2022 US Open, the tournament that marked the end of her first career before she “evolved away” from the sport.
Serena returned to competitive action in doubles in June and subsequently received a wildcard to play singles at Wimbledon.
However, a knee problem suffered during her first-round defeat to Maya Joint prevented a planned doubles appearance alongside Venus at SW19.
That meant Cincinnati finally provided the sisters with the opportunity they had been waiting for.
“We’ve waited a long time to get back on the doubles court. Eventually, we find our way to each other,” Venus, 46, said.
“We give each other so much grace and encouragement.
“This is our first time playing together in forever, and I think we’re really getting [into] our stride.”
Serena was making her first competitive appearance since Wimbledon, while Venus had accumulated considerably more match practice after featuring in singles and doubles across three recent hard-court tournaments.
Serena Williams and Venus Williams enjoyed their doubles return
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REUTERS
Their differing levels of preparation appeared to show initially.
Kostyuk and Stearns comfortably claimed the opening set 6-2 before the Williams sisters suddenly rediscovered some of the chemistry that helped make them one of the most formidable doubles partnerships in tennis history.
Serena later acknowledged there had been “a little rust”, but they stormed through the second set 6-1 to force a deciding 10-point tie-break.
Another slow start appeared to have ended their hopes when Kostyuk and Stearns raced into a commanding 6-0 advantage.
Yet Serena and Venus refused to surrender.
Two service winners from Serena helped inspire an impressive fightback as the sisters dragged themselves back into contention and eventually restored parity on serve.
Kostyuk and Stearns nevertheless survived the late charge, with a Venus double fault ultimately sealing victory.
Despite the painful manner of the defeat, Serena echoed her sister’s positivity afterwards.
Fans went wild for the Williams sisters on their doubles return
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REUTERS
“I thought it was fun, it was special, it was good,” she said.
“We were starting to feel it. It was really cool to be able to do this again.”
Attention will now turn towards whether the Williams sisters could reunite once more at the US Open, which begins on August 30.
Both would require wildcards to compete in either singles or doubles at Flushing Meadows.
Serena has played just one singles match since launching her comeback and described her recent knee problem as “a little traumatic experience, but what doesn’t kill you makes you stronger”.
Venus, meanwhile, has endured a difficult singles run but enjoyed greater success in doubles, reaching the quarter-finals in New York last year.
