Serena Williams’ return at ‌SW19 captured global attention, but the comeback ended sooner than the American had hoped. The 23-time Grand Slam winner fought hard before falling to 20-year-old Maya Joint in a gripping three-set battle. Despite the early exit, Venus Williams viewed the performance positively, as the 46-year-old has now shared an honest assessment of her sister’s much-anticipated return.

“She played stellar in that match,” the 46-year-old said in the pre-tournament press conference at the Citi DC Open. “I think her level was so extraordinarily high. It was very unlucky. Sometimes you play players who are on fire, and they don’t seem to maintain that level afterwards. You’ll have to ask her what’s next, but she looks great,” Venus added.

Serena Williams had returned to professional competition during the grass-court swing this year. It marked her first appearance after being “evolved” away from the sport for nearly 4 years.

Before SW19, she competed in doubles at a couple of warm-up events at Queen’s and the Berlin Tennis Open. The 44-year-old also accepted a last-minute wildcard into the singles draw at the All-England Club. 

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And despite losing in the opening round, many believed her performance showed plenty of promise, even if the result didn’t.

However, a few days later, Serena’s SW19 took another unfortunate turn when she was forced to withdraw from the doubles event alongside her elder sister after suffering a knee injury during her singles match.

And as for now, attention has now shifted to the upcoming Canadian Masters in Toronto, scheduled for August 3-13. There is growing speculation that the American tennis icon could accept another last-minute wildcard for the tournament.

Venus has already been awarded a singles wildcard for the Canadian Masters event. However, she has remained tight-lipped about whether her younger sister will join her once again before the US Open nears.

While Venus is now competing at the Citi DC Open, where she made her own comeback last year, she has also spoken honestly about playing doubles with Serena in NY.

Venus Williams opens up about playing with Serena Williams at the US Open

It remains unclear when the 23-time Grand Slam winner will return to the tour. The singles wildcard spots for next month’s Masters event have already been filled, with the tournament director explaining the situation surrounding Serena.

Even so, the seven-time Grand Slam winner is hopeful about another reunion. “We would love to [play the US Open together], so we’ll see what happens.”

The possibility of seeing the iconic Williams sisters team up again at the home Slam has already excited fans. A US Open doubles reunion later this summer in NY would certainly be one of the biggest stories.

As for the WTA world No. 469, she has also lost her last 11 singles matches, making her latest comeback a difficult challenge. Venus will try to change that on Tuesday when she will face world No. 28 Anastasia Potapova in the opening round of the DC Open.

If Williams gets past the 25-year-old Austrian, another tough test awaits as she would then face her doubles partner Diana Shnaider in the second round.

Now, all eyes are on the American icon as she prepares for the opening match tomorrow. Do you think she can produce a memorable performance and book her place in the round of 16?