In Mason, Ohio, at the Cincinnati Open, Venus Williams suffered her 13th consecutive singles defeat. The seven-time Grand Slam champion, 46, lost 6-2, 6-2 to Emiliana Arango in the first round on Friday. Williams received a wild card into the WTA 1000 event and has not won a singles match since July 2025.
Arango, a 25-year-old Colombian qualifier ranked 95th, took just 1 hour and 5 minutes to beat Williams on the grandstand court at Lindner Tennis Center. Arango broke Williams' serve in the opening game and converted 4 of 5 break points, winning 71% of her first-serve points. Williams failed to convert her only break opportunity and won just 41% of her first-serve points.
"That kind of eased my nerves a little bit of having maybe a little bit of breathing room. And then I think I just did a good job of staying on it, trying to make her play as much as possible," Arango said about her early lead.
Arango will face No. 7 seed and defending champion Iga Swiatek in the second round. Williams' last singles victory came last year in Washington, where she beat Peyton Stearns.
"I think that at all times I was really controlling the point, but unfortunately didn't finish it the way I wanted to," said Williams, who is making her 11th appearance in the tournament. "The encouraging part is that I'm controlling the shots, but I have to just get a little more consistent on that last part."
Williams will stay in Cincinnati to play doubles with her sister, Serena, after receiving a wild card. They last played together at the 2022 U.S. Open. The sisters were slated to play Wimbledon doubles before Serena's injury. They will face Marta Kostyuk and Peyton Stearns in the first round, with doubles starting Sunday.
"I'm excited and hope that we can both go into it fresh, on our toes and ready. I'll be preparing for that," Venus said. She is also slated to play mixed doubles at the U.S. Open later this month with Alexander Bublik.