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The Williams sisters’ long-awaited doubles reunion ended in defeat Monday night at the Cincinnati Open. Serena and Venus fell to Marta Kostyuk and Peyton Stearns in a competitive match, 2-6, 6-1 (10-8), marking their first pairing since the 2022 U.S. Open and their initial non-Grand Slam doubles outing since 2016’s Italian Open.
After surrendering the opening set, the duo dominated the second to force a match tiebreaker. The sisters mounted a fierce comeback from an 0-6 deficit but ultimately came up short when Venus committed a double-fault at 8-9. Consecutive service miscues by Kostyuk had narrowed the gap to one point before Serena’s decisive overhead gave them hope at 9-8.
Both competitors had recently returned to the sport. The 44-year-old Serena resumed her career this summer following a two-year hiatus, while Venus, 46, continues her professional tenure. The pair had intended to compete together at Wimbledon but withdrew after Serena sustained a knee injury during her singles match.
The Williams sisters have accumulated 14 Grand Slam doubles titles and 22 total across their careers, along with three Olympic gold medals earned together. Serena owns 23 singles Grand Slam championships while Venus holds seven.
In other tournament action Monday, top seed Alexander Zverev extended his season-leading winning streak to 46 matches with a 7-6 (4), 7-6 (6) victory over Terence Atmane. Defending champion Iga Swiatek rebounded from a set down to defeat Maria Sakkari 4-6, 6-1, 6-1 and stretch her streak to eight consecutive wins.
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