Venus Williams "Would Love" US Open Doubles Reunion with Serena

Serena Williams' knee injury prevented the sisters from playing doubles at Wimbledon, but that could change at the U.S. Open.

Venus Williams discussed playing doubles with her sister, Serena, at the U.S. Open. | IMAGO / ZUMA Press Wire

July 4th isn’t the only special anniversary in D.C. this month. It’s coming up on a year since Venus Williams' historic win over Peyton Stearns at the 2025 Mubadala DC Open, where she became the second-oldest woman to win a tour-level singles match.

Williams, ranked 469th in singles, has since lost her last 11 singles matches. The seven-time major singles champion hopes to recapture some magic in the nation’s capital on Tuesday when she takes on World No. 28 Anastasia Potapova.

Venus WIlliams' 2026 DC Open Campaign

The moment Venus Williams won her first tour-level singles match since August 2023 👑⤵️#MubadalaCitiDCOpen pic.twitter.com/DCzAgJBGyY

— Tennis Channel (@TennisChannel) July 23, 2025

Should Williams move past Potapova, she’ll face her doubles partner and fourth seed Diana Shnaider in the second round. The 46-year-old was originally slated to play with Alex Eala, but the Filipina star was absent from the doubles draw upon its release Saturday.

Williams competed alongside Eala in doubles last month when the pair reached the Bad Homburg quarterfinals. “We had a great time playing in Bad Homburg, so we were looking forward to playing again,” Williams said in her pre-tournament press conference. “Didn't work out this time. Would love for there to be future times. We'll see what happens.”

Venus Williams' Doubles Partners

Inspiring multiple generations 🤩#mubadaladcopen pic.twitter.com/n3jPow6ZGb

— Mubadala DC Open (@mubadaladcopen) July 24, 2026

Williams had bad luck with doubles partners in the biggest tournaments this summer. Rising American Hailey Baptiste was set to partner alongside the legend at Roland Garros. A day before their opening round match, Baptiste suffered injuries to her anterior cruciate ligament (ACL) and meniscus in her left knee during her second-round singles match.

Venus and her sister Serena received a women’s doubles wildcard to play at Wimbledon. But the younger Williams injured her knee during her singles comeback match against Maya Joint and was forced to withdraw.

Venus on Serena

Alex Eala on why she isn't playing doubles with Venus in D.C.:

"I have so much respect for Venus. I am so grateful for every opportunity that I have to be around her, to learn from her, to hit with her. But I do think this is my first week coming back, and I think that Venus is… pic.twitter.com/jlkFIDXVgo

— Christian's Court (@christianscourt) July 26, 2026

“I wonder how far we could have gone,” Williams said. “It’s just unlucky. I would like to hopefully get lucky, how about that?” Injury aside, Venus was impressed by her sister’s return to singles at Wimbledon last month. 

“She played stellar in that match. I think her level was so extraordinarily high,” Williams said. “Sometimes you play players who are on fire, and they don't seem to maintain that level afterwards.”

Possible US Open Reunion

Asked Venus her thoughts on Serena's level thus far in her comeback.

"She played stellar in that match. I think her level was so extraordinarily high. It was very unlucky. Sometimes you play players who are on fire, and they don't seem to maintain that level afterwards. You'll… pic.twitter.com/ETwwmZtJc9

— Christian's Court (@christianscourt) July 26, 2026

It’s unclear when Serena will return to the tour; the singles wildcards for next month’s National Bank Open in Toronto have already been accounted for. But Venus welcomes a possible Williams sisters US Open doubles reunion later this summer.

“We would love to [play the US Open together], so we’ll see what happens.” The Mubadala DC Open main draw begins Monday, July 27. Stay locked into Sports Illustrated's Serve On SI for all of your tennis news from the court and beyond.