Venus Williams’s struggles on the singles court continue to mount. Currently ranked outside of 600 in the world, the 46-year-old legend has faced a tough 2026 season, struggling to keep pace with the tour’s younger generation.
With her 2-6, 2-6 loss to Emiliana Arango today at the Cincinnati Open, Williams’s singles record now stands at a tough 0-11 for the year, and she has simply been unable to capitalize on the wildcards she has received. Amid this, the good news is that she is reuniting with her sister, Serena Williams, in Cincinnati for the doubles event.
Venus Williams’ 2026 Singles Struggles Continue Ahead of Highly Anticipated Doubles Reunion With Serena Williams
The seven-time Grand Slam singles champion hasn’t secured a singles victory since last year. Her last victory was against Peyton Stearns in the Round of 32 at the 2025 DC Open. Also, the former World No. 1 hasn’t managed to win a single set since the Bad Homburg Open in June.
Williams, 46, who returned to the WTA Tour in 2025 after a hiatus of more than a year, always made it clear that she has not retired. Last July, when asked about her return, she said, “Just the pure fun of playing the game, the fun of the challenge, overcoming. When you play, you overcome so many challenges: your opponents, the conditions, a lot of times you have to overcome yourself.”
On the doubles front, however, the 2001 US Open champion has had a few good results. She has partnered with several WTA pros, including Alexandra Eala, Leylah Fernandez, and Diana Schnaider. At the DC Open, alongside Schnaider, she reached the quarterfinals but lost to Tang Qianhui and Xu Yifan.
Now, she is all set to play alongside Serena, with whom she has won 14 doubles Grand Slams. They last played together at the 2022 US Open, where they lost to Linda Nosková and Lucie Hradecká in the first round.
Meanwhile, Serena played her final singles match against Ajla Tomljanović in the third round of the 2022 US Open, losing it 7–5, 6–7(4), 1–6 at Arthur Ashe Stadium in New York. After four years away from the court, the 23-time Grand Slam winner returned at the HSBC Championships during the grass-court season, where she played doubles alongside Mboko and reached the quarterfinals.
She also played in Berlin, partnering up with Karolina Muchova as Mboko got injured. At Wimbledon, she made a singles return but got injured in the first round against Maya Joint. Serena and Venus had been scheduled to play doubles at the All England Club, but had to pull out.
This article originally appeared on Pro Football Network.