Serena Williams is set to compete alongside her sister Venus Williams in the doubles draw at the Cincinnati Open in mid-August, marking a potential return to competitive play ahead of the U.S. Open. The Cincinnati tournament, a WTA 1000 event held in Mason, Ohio, is the second-highest tier hardcourt competition of the summer and is scheduled to begin on August 13. Serena, 44, who has won 23 Grand Slam singles titles, last played professionally at the 2022 U.S. Open before stepping away from the sport. Her recent return to the court in June included a doubles appearance at the Berlin Tennis Open, where she and partner Karolina Muchova lost their opening match. An injury sustained at Wimbledon had cast doubt on her participation in the North American hardcourt season.
Venus Williams, 46, who has been competing sporadically this year, will enter both the singles and doubles draws at the Cincinnati Open via wild-card entries. Despite ongoing efforts, Venus has struggled in singles competition, currently enduring a 14-match losing streak at the WTA Tour level. She has not won a main-draw singles match since July 2023 and recently exited the Canadian Open and the Washington Open in opening rounds. Nonetheless, the coming tournament provides both sisters an opportunity to build match play ahead of the U.S. Open, where Serena’s last professional match was a loss in the third round to Ajla Tomljanovic.
Other players receiving wild cards for the singles draw at Cincinnati include Sloane Stephens, Taylor Townsend, Daria Jilmanova, Elvina Kalieva, Caroline Dolehide, and Lois Boisson. In mixed doubles, Venus Williams is also set to partner with Alexander Bublik, joining a field that includes high-profile teams such as Aryna Sabalenka with Novak Djokovic, Iga Swiatek with Casper Ruud, and Naomi Osaka with Kei Nishikori. The mixed doubles competition is slated to start on August 24, beginning with qualifying rounds.
Meanwhile, Emma Raducanu, the 2021 U.S. Open women’s singles champion from Britain, has announced she will not participate in this year’s U.S. Open due to a stress fracture in her right leg. The 23-year-old withdrew from Wimbledon just prior to the tournament after initially planning to compete despite the injury. Raducanu has been sidelined since and continues her recovery without setting a specific return timeline. This injury follows a challenging start to the 2024 season, during which she dealt with a foot injury and a post-viral illness and has played just 21 matches. Raducanu’s only notable recent result was reaching the final of the Queen’s Club tournament, where she lost to Donna Vekic.
The U.S. Open women’s singles main draw will commence on August 30, with the current world No. 1, Aryna Sabalenka, aiming for a third consecutive title.