Venus Williams Loses 14th Straight in Cincinnati as Arango, Bejlek and Tsitsipas Advance
Emiliana Arango beat Venus Williams 6-2, 6-2 in 66 minutes in the first round of the Cincinnati Open on August 14, extending Williams's losing streak to 14 matches dating to July 2025 (The Guardian).
Williams, 46 years old and ranked 615th in the world, received a wild card into the tournament — an invitation that bypasses qualifying — and played on a site where she reached a semi-final a dozen years ago. The 2026 season has brought 11 appearances and 11 defeats, all on organiser-issued entries. Arango, a qualifier from Colombia, secured her first WTA Tour main-draw win since June with the result (WTA).
The win puts Arango into a second-round meeting with Iga Swiatek, the world's dominant force on hard and clay courts in recent seasons (WTA). For Williams, there is still the doubles draw: she and sister Serena, recipients of a main-draw doubles wild card, are set to reunite in Cincinnati for the first time in some time (WTA).
The Cincinnati Open, a WTA 1000 event on outdoor hard courts at the Lindner Family Tennis Center, also saw Sara Bejlek demolish Karolina Pliskova 6-0, 6-2 in first-round action (The Guardian). A bagel — a set won to love — set the tone for Bejlek, who barely allowed Pliskova a foothold.
On the men's side, playing at the same combined ATP-WTA event, Stefanos Tsitsipas survived a tense opener against Valentin Royer, winning 7-6 (7/4), 7-5 and converting only on his sixth match point — the final chance to close out a match. Tsitsipas, ranked 49th, advanced to face second seed Felix Auger-Aliassime (The Guardian).
Grigor Dimitrov's tournament ended early. He led Sebastian Baez 4-1 in the third set — needing only two more games to serve out — but lost 1-6, 6-3, 6-4. Baez moved on to play Learner Tien, the American who reached a semi-final in Montreal last week.
Hubert Hurkacz, a 2023 Cincinnati semi-finalist, advanced 6-2, 6-4 over Sho Shimabukuro, a lucky loser — a player who slipped into the main draw after a withdrawal. Matteo Berrettini, playing only his second match since Wimbledon due to injury, recovered from a set down to beat Thomas Droguet 3-6, 6-2, 6-4.
For Venus Williams, the singles season remains a search for a single win. The doubles alongside Serena, whenever they take the court, will draw the spotlight regardless of the scoreline.
