CINCINNATI: The Williams sisters brought back a familiar sight to the tennis court Monday, but their long-awaited doubles reunion ended in a narrow defeat as Serena and Venus Williams fell to Payton Stearns and Marta Kostyuk at the Cincinnati Open.
Playing together for the first time since the 2022 U.S. Open, the sisters lost 6-2, 1-6, 10-8 after fighting back from an 8-2 deficit in the deciding match tiebreaker. Venus’ double fault on match point ended their comeback.
“It was fun and special,” Serena said. “We kicked off a little rust.”
The 44-year-old Serena and 46-year-old Venus have won 14 Grand Slam doubles titles and three Olympic gold medals together. Serena said the reunion was about enjoying the moment rather than chasing another tournament title.
“I didn’t come here to win this tournament,” she said. “It’s about having fun.”
Top-seeded Alexander Zverev reached the fourth round with a 7-6 (7-4), 7-6 (8-6) victory over France’s Terence Atmane.
The reigning French Open champion improved to 46 wins this season, finishing the match with a powerful backhand down the line.
Fifth-seeded Alex de Minaur also advanced after beating Arthur Fery 7-5, 7-6 (7-3) in a match repeatedly interrupted by rain. He will face France’s Arthur Fils, who defeated ninth-seeded Jiri Lehecka 6-1, 6-7 (7-9), 6-3.
Spanish teenager Rafael Jodar continued his impressive run with a 6-2, 6-1 win over Alejandro Tabilo and will next meet French Open finalist Flavio Cobolli.
Argentina’s Thiago Tirante, who stunned Novak Djokovic in the previous round, defeated Spain’s Martin Landaluce 7-6 (7-5), 7-6 (7-4).
Defending champion Iga Swiatek recovered from a first-set loss to beat Maria Sakkari 4-6, 6-1, 6-1.
Elena Rybakina overcame two one-hour rain delays to defeat Magdalena Frech 6-4, 7-6 (7-2), while third-seeded American Jessica Pegula beat compatriot Emma Navarro 7-5, 6-2.
Amanda Anisimova also advanced, rallying past 17th-seeded Filipina Alexandra Eala 4-6, 6-4, 6-2.
Brazilian rising star Joao Fonseca withdrew from the tournament with an abdominal injury.
With the U.S. Open approaching, the Cincinnati tournament is providing several of the sport’s biggest names with one of their final opportunities to build momentum before the year’s last Grand Slam.
