Serena Williams, left, first bumps Venus Williams, right, both of the United States, during a women’s doubles match against Marta Kostyuk, of Ukraine, and Peyton Stearns, also of the United States, at the Cincinnati Open tennis tournament, Monday, Aug. 17, 2026, in Mason, Ohio. (AP Photo/Kareem Elgazzar)

MASON, Ohio — Serena and Venus Williams played their first doubles match together since the 2022 US Open and lost a thriller, 2-6, 6-1 (10-8) to Marta Kostyuk and Peyton Stearns on Monday night at the Cincinnati Open.

The sisters nearly recovered from a 6-0 deficit in the match tiebreaker before a double-fault by Venus Williams ended their first doubles appearance in a non-Grand Slam event since the Italian Open in 2016.

“I thought it was fun,” Serena said. “I thought it was special. We kicked off a little rust in the middle of the match and just, you know (were) starting to feel it. I didn’t come out here to win this tournament. Winning is obviously great. But in this position just, you know, having fun. It was really cool to be able to do this again.”

READ: Serena Williams pulls out of Wimbledon doubles with knee injury

Matching Kits on Top 💙

Marta Kostyuk & Peyton Stearns take the first set against the Williams Sisters.#CincyTennis pic.twitter.com/svaRC6hXdj

— wta (@WTA) August 18, 2026

Serena had been off the tour since 2022 before returning this summer at age 44. The sisters planned to play together at Wimbledon but had to withdraw after Serena injured her knee while losing her singles match. They entered Cincinnati as a wild card.

“Eventually we would find our way to each other,” the 46-year-old Venus said about the decision to play doubles again. “It’s our first time playing together in forever. It was great for us to get out there and do it.”

Kostyuk and Stearns, both 24, are playing in their first tournament together. Kostyuk is from Ukraine. Stearns grew up in the Cincinnati suburb of Mason, where the tournament is played every year.

“I kind of expected it but it stung a little bit that this is my hometown,” Stearns said about the pro-Williams sisters crowd. “I won’t hold it against anyone. The crowd was going for them but we used it to our advantage and flipped the script.”

READ: Alex Eala, Venus Williams ousted in Canadian Open doubles

Peyton Stearns, of the United States, left, first bumps Marta Kostyuk, of Ukraine, right, during a women’s doubles match against Serena Williams and Venus Williams, also of the United States, at the Cincinnati Open tennis tournament, Monday, Aug. 17, 2026, in Mason, Ohio. (AP Photo/Kareem Elgazzar)

After dropping the first set, the Williams sisters rolled in the second to force a match tiebreak.

Kostyuk and Stearns went ahead 6-0, but consecutive double-faults by Kostyuk helped the Williamses get within 8-7. It was 9-8 after Serena powerfully put away an overhead before Venus double-faulted.

“The crowd got the show,” Kostyuk said. “They probably couldn’t ask for anything better. At the end a tiebreak is a lottery. You never know which way it’s going to go.”

Venus and Serena have won 14 Grand Slam doubles titles and 22 total. Serena won one with Alexandra Stevenson in 2002 at Leipzig. All of Venus’ doubles titles have been with her sister. They also have won three Olympic gold medals together.

Serena has won 23 singles Grand Slam titles. Venus has won seven.

With the State of Play trailer, we now have more information about Phantom Blade Zero. This involves stuff about the world, the plot, why Donnie Yen is here, and, of course, the combat. The game has been described as “dark Wuxia action game”, which involves a lot of martial arts set in a world of darkness. Then again, the protagonist goes by the name Soul so that is to be expected.

So here’s the things that stood out to us about the game after watching the State of Play.

Phantom Blade Zero: What players need to know

1) Donnie Yen of Ip Man fame is a consultant

The combat in the game will implement traits of Mó Yuan, courtesy of the creative consultant Donnie Yen. He will also provide motion capture for the combat allowing the game to feel more realistic. As such, the gameplay will feel like the player is taking part in a kung fu movie where they get to control the action.

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2) There are a lot of weapons

As per the developers, there are 30 main weapons for players to use in Phantom Blade Zero. However, that’s not all as there are 25 secondary weapons called Phantom Edges as well. All of these can be upgraded over time and used alongside different accessories. Additionally, if you choose to change up your build, you will be able to reforge and get those materials back.

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3) There are multiple difficulty options to pick from

For players looking to just experience the story of Phantom Blade Zero without bashing their heads against a wall, they should pick Wayfarer Mode. However, for players wanting a bit more of a challenge, the developers have provided. There’s Hellwalker, which thanks to its spike in difficulty, is akin to hell. Even beyond that, there’s Sixty-Six Days which is the highest difficulty in the game

As to why the hardest difficulty is named as such, well that has to do with the plot of Phantom Blade Zero.

Also read: How to complete Phantom Blade Zero pre-order video quest (and claim a reward)

4) The protagonist has only sixty-six days to live

From what we have learned about the plot, it revolves around a legendary fighter called Soul. He is framed for murdering his clan’s leader, leading to him being ostracized and killed by his blood brother from childhood. A witch brings him back to life…but only for sixty-six days. So he’s on borrowed time as he tries to sort everything out and find why he was betrayed in the first place.

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5) The enemies come in all sorts of strange forms

The State of Play showcased multiple amazing enemies for Soul to fight against in Phantom Blade Zero. We have skeletal horseman, giant baby mask wearing enemies, circular saw headed enemies, and many more. Some of these are fallen warriors who have given in to the darkness, while others are more garden variety monsters that you will have to take down.