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Things didn’t go to plan at the Cincinnati Open for the famous tennis duo Dubai: For the first time since 2022, Serena and Venus Williams took to the court together for a doubles match and while it was a thriller, the American pair were beaten. Facing Marta Kostyuk and Peyton Stearns in front of a packed crowed in Ohio, the Williams sisters put in a strong performance but eventually fell to a 2-6 6-1, 10-8 defeat. The sisters last shared the court four years ago at the US Open, which marked Serena’s final tournament before she announced she was leaving tennis. The 44-year-old later made her comeback in doubles in June before returning to singles at Wimbledon as a wildcard. However, Serena suffered a knee injury during her first-round defeat by Maya Joint at SW19, forcing her to withdraw from her planned doubles appearance alongside Venus. In an emotional post-match interview following the defeat in Cincinnati, Venus said: "We've waited a long time to get back on the doubles court. Eventually, we find our way to each other.” "We give each other so much grace and encouragement. "This is our first time playing together in forever, and I think we're really getting (into) our stride." Serena was competing for the first time since Wimbledon, while Venus had already featured in singles and doubles at three hard-court tournaments over the past few weeks. The sisters endured a difficult opening against Ukraine’s Kostyuk and America’s Stearns, but settled into the match in the second set after Serena admitted they were working through “a little rust”. They fell 6-0 behind in the deciding 10-point tie-break, but mounted an impressive comeback. Two service winners from Serena brought them back level, but Kostyuk and Stearns held their nerve before sealing victory when Venus double-faulted. “It was fun, it was special, it was good,” Serena said. “We were starting to feel it. It was really cool to be able to do this again.” The sisters will require wildcards if they are to compete in either singles or doubles at the US Open, which starts on Sunday, 30 August.