Serena Williams returns to Cincinnati after two years, to play the full US Open series for the first time since 2015
Due to an injury sustained in June last year, Serena Williams was sidelined for a year, missing all events, including the 2021 Cincinnati Open. Based on the tournament's recently-released entry list, the American legend will once again grace the tournament this year before the US Open.
The Cincinnati Open, also known as the Western & Southern Open, will commence on August 15 and continue until August 21 at the Lindner Family Tennis Center in Ohio. The 23-time Grand Slam champion is a two-time winner at the tournament and is one of only two women, alongside Victoria Azarenka, to have won the event more than once in the Open Era.
After falling to Azarenka in the finals in 2013, Williams bounced back and lifted the trophy two years in a row in 2014 and 2015. The last time Williams played in the tournament was in 2020, where she faced a third-round exit against Maria Sakkari. Being unranked this year, the American will enter the tournament using her protected ranking.
Serena Williams on @CincyTennis initial entry list....the allure of Kings Island = irresistible https://t.co/9Wk5Z5vRde
Apart from Williams and Azarenka, some of the other star players who will be playing in Cincinnati this August are: World No. 1 Iga Swiatek, Coco Gauff, Emma Raducanu, Madison Keys, Garbine Muguruza, Karolina Pliskova, Elena Rybakina, Naomi Osaka, Simona Halep, and Bianca Andreescu.
Williams will also feature in the National Bank Open in Toronto earlier in August, thereby marking the first time since 2015 where the American is participating in the full US Open series. She has emerged victorious thrice in Canada so far — 2001, 2011, and 2013.
Serena Williams made her comeback at the 2022 Wimbledon
During her opening match against Belarusian player Aliaksandra Sasnovich at the 2021 Wimbledon Championships, Serena Williams suffered a torn hamstring, forcing her to retire mid-match.
Her fans had to wait 364 days for the seven-time Wimbledon winner to return to the court. A few days before the grass-court Major was scheduled to begin, Williams announced her entry into the main draw as a wildcard.
HISTORY 📚
For the first time since Jan 5, 1998 neither Serena Williams nor Roger Federer are inside the WTA/ATP Rankings top 100.
Both players are currently unranked (first time since 1997). https://t.co/YLfmfbZD3e
She even partnered with Tunisia's Ons Jabeur to play doubles at the Rothesay International in Eastbourne before arriving in London. Unsurprisingly, the American icon's comeback after a year-long layoff was bigger than any other news in the tennis world.
However, lack of match practice resulted in a first-round exit for the 23-time Grand Slam champion against World No. 118 Harmony Tan. Tan defeated Williams 7-5, 1-6, 7-6(7) in a contest that lasted three hours and 10 minutes.
The former World No. 1 was aiming for her 24th Grand Slam title to equal Margaret Court's record at SW19, a dream that will now resume at the US Open at the end of August. The last time Serena Williams won a Major was at the 2017 Australian Open, after which she has lost four finals.