Serena Williams Has Her Husband and Maria Sharapova Taking Notice As She Gears Up for Cincinnati Open Comeback

Serena Williams is all set to make her highly anticipated comeback at the 2026 Cincinnati Open after being sidelined since sustaining a knee injury during her singles match at Wimbledon. The 23-time Grand Slam champion is continuing her comeback to professional tennis after making her competitive return during the grass-court season.

Alexis Ohanian and Maria Sharapova React to Serena Williams’ Cincinnati Open Training

Williams played her first singles match since retiring at the 2022 US Open when she returned to action at Wimbledon. Taking on Maya Joint, the American put up a spirited challenge, but Joint ultimately claimed a 6-3, 6-7(6), 6-3 victory to advance to the second round.

Subsequently, the 23-time Grand Slam champion was forced to withdraw from the women’s doubles event at SW19, ending her planned partnership with sister Venus Williams. She also shared a glimpse of the substantial amount of fluid she had drained from her knee.

After taking time away to recover and enjoy quality time with her daughters, Williams returned to training while keeping her comeback plans a mystery. It was later confirmed that the 44-year-old would reunite with Venus at the Cincinnati Open, with the duo receiving a wildcard for the doubles event.

Serena has now arrived at the tournament venue and begun gearing up for her much-awaited doubles campaign.

“Even in the hardest times, you have to show up and be ready… A new me,” she captioned her Instagram post.

Williams’ peek at her practice session caught the attention of her husband, Alexis Ohanian, and Venus’ husband, Andrea Preti, who shared encouraging reactions in the comments. Maria Sharapova also applauded the 23-time Grand Slam champion as she prepared for her return to the court.

“❤️,” Ohanian commented.

“👏👏👏,” Sharapova wrote.

“Let’s go sister ❤️,” Preti posted.

MORE: Serena Williams Under Fire From Tennis World After Repeated GLP-1 Ads at Cincinnati Open

Venus and Serena Williams are set to lock horns with Marta Kostyuk and Peyton Stearns in the first round of the women’s doubles event at the Cincinnati Open. While Serena is not competing in the singles event at the WTA 1000 event, Venus received a singles wildcard as well.

However, the seven-time Grand Slam champion’s campaign was short-lived, as Emiliana Arango claimed a 6-2, 6-2 win in their first-round encounter. With Venus suffering her 13th consecutive singles loss, a debate erupted over whether she should continue to be awarded singles wildcards. Amid the discourse, tennis insider Jon Wertheim came to the former world No. 1’s defense.

This article originally appeared on Pro Football Network.