Before the 2026 Cincinnati Open, Serena and Venus Williams had last reunited in doubles at the 2022 US Open.
Their Cincinnati appearance was their first doubles partnership in nearly four years. The sisters received a wild card and returned to the court together in a highly anticipated first-round match at the Lindner Family Tennis Center.
They lost that match to Marta Kostyuk and Peyton Stearns, 6–2, 1–6, 10–8. Despite the defeat, the reunion became one of the tournament’s most widely discussed moments because the sisters had won 14 Grand Slam women’s doubles titles together.
The 2022 US Open was also a major milestone in Serena Williams’s playing career, as she announced her evolution away from professional tennis around that tournament. Their 2026 Cincinnati reunion therefore connected a recent tennis comeback story with one of the sport’s most successful doubles partnerships.