Venus Williams faced another setback in her singles career, extending her losing streak to 13 matches. The seven-time major champion was outplayed by Emiliana Arango in a 6-2, 6-2 defeat during the opening round of the Cincinnati Open. Williams, aged 46, entered the WTA 1000 event through a wild-card entry but hasn’t clinched a singles victory since July 2025. Arango, a 25-year-old Colombian qualifier ranked 95th, secured the win in just over an hour on the grandstand court at Lindner Tennis Center in Mason, Ohio.
From the onset, Arango took control by breaking Williams in the initial game, setting the tone for the match. Arango capitalized on 4 out of 5 break points and won 71% of her first-serve points, while Williams struggled to convert her sole break opportunity and only managed a 41% success rate on first serves. Reflecting on her performance, Arango expressed satisfaction with her early lead, stating, “That kind of eased my nerves a little bit… And then I think I just did a good job of staying on it, trying to make her play as much as possible.”
As Arango progresses to face No. 7 seed Iga Swiatek in the next round, Williams reminisced about her last singles triumph in Washington against Peyton Stearns. Despite feeling in command of the points, Williams acknowledged the need for improved consistency in finishing matches. This marks Williams’s 11th appearance at the Cincinnati tournament.
Following her singles defeat, Venus Williams will partner with her sister Serena for the doubles event in Cincinnati, courtesy of a wild-card entry. The duo last competed together at the 2022 U.S. Open. Originally scheduled to team up at Wimbledon, the sisters regrouped for the Cincinnati Open after Serena’s injury. They are set to face Marta Kostyuk and Peyton Stearns in the opening doubles match, commencing on Sunday. Looking ahead, Venus expressed enthusiasm for the upcoming doubles challenge and also revealed her plans to participate in mixed doubles at the upcoming U.S. Open alongside Alexander Bublik.