Serena Williams' return to competitive tennis hit another speed bump on Monday night, as she and sister Venus lost in the first round of the Cincinnati Open. The Williams sisters fell in a third-set tiebreaker to Marta Kostyuk and Peyton Stearns, Aug. 17, in the women's doubles draw. The match marked the first time Serena and Venus had played together since the 2022 U.S. Open and the first non-major for them in doubles since 2016. The appearance in Cincinnati, where neither Williams sister had played doubles a pro tournament before, was seen as a potential tune-up for the U.S. Open, which begins next week. But it didn't last very long.
While they did look dominant in the second set, the 14-time Grand Slam-winning doubles partners fell, 6-2, 1-6, 1-0 (8). "We waited a long time to get back on the doubles court, even this year," Venus said. "I think eventually we would find our way to each other." The two had planned to reunite for Wimbledon, but Serena had to withdraw because of a knee injury.
The match came down to a 10-point third-set tiebreak, with Stearns and Kostyuk winning the first six points. However, the Williams sisters rallied to cut the deficit to one. When Serena slammed a volley away to save the first match point at 9-7, the crowd roared. However, Venus double-faulted to give Stearns-Kostyuk a 10-8 win. "Obviously I wanted to do the best that I could do, but I think having fun and also just seeing how we are and how we feel out there," Serena said. "Being out there with the fans, too, is just really good to give them another opportunity to see us play. It was just really cool." Contributing: Shelby Dermer, The Cincinnati Enquirer, part of the USA TODAY Network This article originally appeared on USA TODAY: Serena, Venus Williams ousted in first round of Cincinnati Open doubles