Venus Williams continued her 13-match losing streak in singles competition as she was defeated 6-2, 6-2 by Emiliana Arango at the Cincinnati Open. The seven-time major champion, aged 46, received a wild-card entry to the WTA 1000 event but hasn’t secured a singles victory since July 2025. Arango, a 25-year-old qualifier from Colombia ranked 95th, defeated Williams in one hour and five minutes on the grandstand court at Lindner Tennis Center in Mason, Ohio. Williams struggled after having her serve broken in the first game and failed to capitalize on her only break opportunity, winning only 41% of her first-serve points.
Arango, who converted 4 of 5 break points and won 71% of her first-serve points, expressed confidence in her early lead, stating, “That kind of eased my nerves a little bit of having maybe a little bit of breathing room. And then I think I just did a good job of staying on it, trying to make her play as much as possible.” Arango is now set to face the No. 7 seed and defending Cincinnati champion Iga Swiatek in the second round.
Venus Williams last secured a singles victory last year in Washington against Peyton Stearns. Reflecting on her loss, Williams, participating in her 11th Cincinnati tournament, acknowledged, “I think that at all times I was really controlling the point but unfortunately didn’t finish it the way I wanted to. The encouraging part is that I’m controlling the shots, but I have to just get a little more consistent on that last part.”
Following her singles defeat, Venus Williams will partner with her sister, Serena, in the doubles event after receiving a wild-card entry. The Williams sisters, who last played doubles together at the 2022 U.S. Open, were originally scheduled to compete at Wimbledon before an injury to Serena. Their first-round doubles match in Cincinnati will be against Marta Kostyuk and Peyton Stearns as the doubles portion of the tournament kicks off on Sunday.
Looking ahead, Venus Williams expressed her excitement, stating, “I’m excited and hope that we can both go into it fresh, on our toes and ready. I’ll be preparing for that.” Additionally, Venus is set to participate in mixed doubles at the upcoming U.S. Open later this month alongside Alexander Bublik.
