Four years after playing doubles together during Serena Williams’ initial retirement at the 2022 US Open, Venus Williams and the 23-time Grand Slam champion have reunited for doubles at the Cincinnati Open.
Ahead of their opening doubles match at the WTA 1000 event, Serena was spotted spending time with her daughters, Olympia and Adira, at the venue, indulging their interest in other sports.
Serena Williams Shares Heartwarming Moment with Her Daughters at the Cincinnati Open
Venus and Serena Williams were originally supposed to revive their doubles partnership at Wimbledon. However, their campaign was cut short before it began, as Serena was forced to withdraw from the tournament after sustaining a knee injury during her loss to Maya Joint in the first round of the singles competition.
After taking time off to recover, Serena is set to resume her comeback in Cincinnati after making her return to the court during the grass-court season. The 44-year-old has been gearing up for her highly anticipated doubles campaign at the tournament venue.
Ahead of her opening match with Venus, Serena made time for her daughters, who joined her on the tournament grounds. Interestingly, neither showed an interest in tennis. Olympia kicked a soccer ball around, while the 23-time Grand Slam champion helped Adira practice her baseball swing.
Amid her preparations, Serena opened up about enjoying her practice sessions with Venus while acknowledging how different it felt to compete solely in doubles instead of balancing it with a singles campaign. The 44-year-old also said she had plenty of rust to shake off after spending four years in retirement.
“Being back on court with my sister is great. You know, we were just trying to get back in the rhythm and practice a little bit, and it’s just so different just to play doubles. I’m not used to just playing doubles,” she said.
“We’re having fun on the court, but we’re taking it, you know, as best as we can. And it’s coming. Taking four years off is definitely a lot of rust, I’m not trying to be out here forever. Sometimes I look at my coach, ‘I miss that repetition.’ I don’t get enough repetition. That’s been interesting,” she added.
The Williams sisters locked horns with Marta Kostyuk and Peyton Stearns in the first round of the Cincinnati Open, with Olympia watching from the stands. Although the American duo mounted an impressive comeback after losing the opening set, Kostyuk and Stearns ultimately claimed a 6-2, 1-6, [10-8] victory to advance to the second round.
It remains to be seen whether Venus and Serena Williams will continue their doubles partnership at the US Open or also compete in the singles draw, with the final wildcards for the New York Major yet to be announced.
This article originally appeared on Pro Football Network.