The American pair, who entered the tournament as wild cards, were beaten 2-6, 6-1, 10-8 by Ukrainian Marta Kostyuk and American Peyton Stearns in a contest that featured several momentum swings.
The Williams sisters endured a slow start, dropping the opening set 6-2 as Kostyuk and Stearns took advantage of their opponents’ early rust. However, Serena and Venus quickly found their rhythm in the second set, producing a dominant response to level the match at one set apiece and force a decisive 10-point tie-break.
The sisters appeared to be heading for defeat after falling 6-0 behind in the deciding breaker, but the experienced duo once again showed their fighting spirit. Consecutive double faults from Kostyuk helped Serena and Venus cut the deficit to 8-7, raising hopes among the packed crowd that another remarkable comeback could be completed.
However, the comeback fell just short. The match ended in unfortunate fashion for the Williams sisters when Venus double-faulted, handing Kostyuk and Stearns victory.
Despite the defeat, Serena said she thoroughly enjoyed the experience of sharing the court with her sister again.
“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.”
The appearance marked the sisters’ first doubles match together in four years. Their last outing as a pair came at the 2022 US Open, while their previous appearance together at a non-Grand Slam tournament was at the Italian Open.
Together, Serena and Venus have won 14 Grand Slam doubles titles and built one of the most successful partnerships in tennis history. They had been expected to reunite for doubles at Wimbledon, but their plans were disrupted when Serena was forced to withdraw because of an injury.
For Serena, 44, the Cincinnati appearance was also only her fourth match since making her return to the WTA Tour this summer. Her comeback has attracted significant attention, with fans eager to see the former world No. 1 back in competitive action.
Venus, 46, said the decision to play together again was something that eventually felt natural for the sisters.
“Eventually we would find our way to each other,” Venus said. “It's our first time playing together in forever. It was great for us to get out there and do it.”
While the Williams sisters are out of the tournament, Kostyuk and Stearns will continue their campaign. The American-Ukrainian pairing, playing together for the first time, will next face third seeds Guo Hanyu and Kristina Mladenovic.
Kostyuk acknowledged the atmosphere created by the Williams sisters’ presence and said the deciding tie-break could easily have gone the other way.
“The crowd got the show,” Kostyuk said. “They probably couldn't ask for anything better. At the end a tie-break is a lottery. You never know which way it's going to go.”
Although the result went against Serena and Venus, their return provided a memorable spectacle for the Cincinnati crowd and another reminder of the sisters’ enduring appeal.:::