Serena Williams returns to centre stage at Cincinnati Open with Venus

Serena Williams is back on the practice court as she prepares to continue her highly anticipated comeback at the 2026 Cincinnati Open alongside sister Venus Williams.

The 23-time Grand Slam singles champion arrived in Cincinnati ahead of the sisters’ doubles campaign, which could begin on Monday. Serena and Venus were seen training together on Sunday as they prepared to face Peyton Stearns and Marta Kostyuk in their opening match.

Serena also shared a glimpse of her preparations on social media, posting a video from a recent practice session in which she worked on her returns and movement across the court.

“Even in the hardest times, you have to show up and be ready … A new me,” Serena wrote on social media.

She later spoke about her return to Cincinnati in a message shared by the tournament.

“Hey, y’all! It’s Serena here. I’m back in Cincinnati. Don’t ask me why or how. But I love this place. It’s like it’s always one of my favourite stops on tour. And when I decided to play a few tournaments, I said, ‘You know what, Cincinnati Open is one place I would never miss.’”

Serena returned to professional tennis during the grass-court season in June after stepping away from competition following the 2022 US Open. She made her Grand Slam comeback at Wimbledon on June 30, nearly four years after her previous appearance at a major.

However, her return was cut short in the singles draw when she lost a three-set battle to Australia’s Maya Joint, 6-3, 6-7, 6-2. Serena also suffered a knee injury during the match, forcing her to withdraw from her planned doubles partnership with Venus at Wimbledon.

The sisters had been scheduled to reunite on court at the All England Club, but Serena said her knee was not ready for another match.

Cincinnati now provides another opportunity for the 14-time Grand Slam doubles champions to play together. Their last competitive appearance as a doubles team came at the 2022 US Open, where they lost to Czech duo Linda Nosková and Lucie Hradecká.

Venus, who has also competed at the Canadian Open in Toronto, said she hopes the sisters can finally get their long-awaited reunion underway.

“We were really looking forward to Wimbledon, and it just didn’t end up the way we had hoped. So, hopefully we can get on the court and get back into the swing of things and pick up right where we left off,” Venus said.

Venus arrived in Cincinnati earlier after receiving a wildcard into the singles draw, but her campaign ended in the first round with a 6-2, 6-2 defeat to Emiliana Arango.