Venus Williams suffered her 13th consecutive singles defeat as she was outplayed 6-2, 6-2 by Emiliana Arango in the opening round of the Cincinnati Open. The seven-time major champion, aged 46, secured a wild-card entry to the WTA 1000 tournament but has not tasted victory in singles competition since July 2025. Arango, a 25-year-old Colombian qualifier ranked 95th, needed just over an hour to dispatch Williams on the grandstand court at Lindner Tennis Center in Mason, Ohio.
The match started unfavorably for Williams as she had her serve broken in the initial game, setting the tone for the rest of the encounter. Arango capitalized on 4 out of 5 break points and won 71% of her first-serve points, while Williams struggled with a low 41% success rate on her first serves. Reflecting on her early lead, Arango expressed satisfaction with having breathing space and emphasized the importance of making Williams work for each point.
In her 11th appearance at the Cincinnati tournament, Williams reminisced about her last singles triumph, which occurred in Washington last year against Peyton Stearns. Despite feeling in control during points, Williams acknowledged the need for improved consistency in finishing them off.
Following her singles disappointment, Williams will partner with her sister, Serena, in the doubles event after being granted a wild-card entry. The sisters, who last played doubles together at the 2022 U.S. Open, missed out on a Wimbledon doubles appearance due to Serena’s injury. They are scheduled to face Marta Kostyuk and Peyton Stearns in the opening round of the doubles competition set to commence on Sunday.
Looking ahead, Venus Williams expressed enthusiasm for the upcoming doubles challenge and revealed her plans to participate in mixed doubles at the U.S. Open later this month alongside Alexander Bublik.