Serena and Venus Williams awarded Cincinnati doubles wild card, Venus also enters US Open mixed doubles

Wild card for Cincinnati

Serena and Venus Williams received a wild card for the doubles draw at the Cincinnati Open, a WTA 1000 tournament running from 11 to 23 August. It will be their first doubles appearance together since the 2022 US Open, where they lost in the first round to Lucie Hradecka and Linda Noskova. The pair has won 14 Grand Slam doubles titles, including six at Wimbledon, and three Olympic gold medals. Venus, 46, also received a singles wild card for the same tournament.

Wimbledon setback

The sisters had planned to play doubles at Wimbledon in June, but Serena withdrew after sustaining a knee injury during her first-round singles loss to Maya Joint. That match marked Serena's return to Grand Slam tennis after a four-year absence. The 44-year-old's comeback ended in a three-set defeat, and the injury forced the pair out of the doubles draw.

US Open mixed doubles field

Separately, Venus Williams and Alexander Bublik were announced as one of several high-profile pairings for the US Open mixed doubles event. The competition will headline Fan Week during the seven days before the main-draw singles begin. Other teams include Aryna Sabalenka and Novak Djokovic, Iga Świątek and Casper Ruud, and Naomi Osaka and Kei Nishikori. Newlyweds Katie Boulter and Alex De Minaur, and the married couple Elina Svitolina and Gaël Monfils, also signed up. Serena Williams was not on the entry list. The event drew 78,000 spectators over two days in 2025 and offers $1 million to the winners. Joint men's world No. 1 Henry Patten is teaming with women's No. 1 Kateřina Siniaková. Jannik Sinner, the men's singles world No. 1, said during Wimbledon that he would not enter without significant progress in negotiations between top players and major organizers over prize money and compensation. Entry closes on 17 August, with six direct entries by combined ranking, eight wild cards, and two spots from a new eight-team qualifying event.

Road to the US Open

The Cincinnati tournament is a key hard-court tune-up for the US Open, the year's final Grand Slam. The US Open begins on 23 August, though one report listed 31 August. Serena has not played at Flushing Meadows since 2022, and the Cincinnati appearance could pave the way for her return. Venus will compete in both singles and doubles in Ohio, while the mixed doubles field in New York adds another chapter to her late-career schedule.