Venus And Serena Williams Get Wildcard Into Cincinnati Open

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@ 03/08/2026

US Open 2009 Womens Doubles Finals: Holding winners Trophy C

Serena Williams and Venus Williams have been awarded a doubles wild card for the Cincinnati Open.

The sisters are also expected to potentially play at the U.S. Open later this month, Jon Wertheim of Tennis Channel reported last month.

Venus Williams has also received a singles wild card into Cincinnati, along with Sloane Stephens, Taylor Townsend, Darja Vidmanova, Elvina Kalieva, Caroline Dolehide and Lois Boisson for the Aug. 8-23 tournament.

As a doubles team, the Williams sisters have won 14 Major titles and three Olympic gold medals. They last took the court for a doubles match together at the 2022 U.S. Open and will be playing the Cincinnati Open for the first time as a team.

Venus Williams owns a 12-10 Cincinnati Open record, having reached the semifinals in 2012 and quarterfinals in 2019. The 46-year-old first played on the WTA Tour in 1994, and has won 49 career singles titles, including seven Majors and the 2000 Olympic gold medal. She held the WTA No. 1 ranking for 11 weeks.

Stephens, a Cincinnati semifinalist in 2013, returns for the first time since 2023. The 33-year-old American has won eight titles, including the 2017 U.S. Open, and has been ranked as high as No. 3 in the world.

Townsend, winner of the 2023 Cincinnati doubles title, made her first WTA Tour final in Austin and climbed back inside of the Top 100. The American will headline the doubles draw as the world No. 1 team alongside Katerina Siniakova.
Vidmanova just posted her career-best WTA result, reaching her first WTA final last week in Memphis. The 23-year-old Czech was the first player from the University of Georgia and third woman in NCAA history to achieve the NCAA Triple Crown: winning the team, singles and doubles titles during her collegiate career.
Kalieva turned 23 last week while also reaching her first WTA semifinal in Memphis. The New York City native claimed her biggest career title earlier this year at the World Tennis Tour W100 in San Diego.
Chicago-area native Dolehide is a two-time WTA finalist who recently won the World Tennis Tour W100 in Evansville, Ind., The 27-year-old will be making her third Cincinnati Open singles appearance.
Last year, Boisson became the first wild card in the Open Era to reach the Roland Garros women’s singles semifinals. The 23-year-old Frenchwoman will be making her Cincinnati Open debut.

Qualifying wild cards have been awarded to 2019 U.S. Open champion Bianca Andreescu, Akasha Urhobo, Carol Young Suh Lee, Jeline Vandromme and Robin Montgomery, a 21-year-old American who claimed her first WTA title in June.

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The Cincinnati Open begins Aug. 8-9 with Community Weekend before matches get underway on Aug. 11. Finals Weekend will be Aug. 22-23 with both men’s and women’s singles finals scheduled for Aug. 23.