Venus Williams and Alexandra Eala are not playing together at the Washington Open as planned.
Williams and Eala played together in Bad Homburg last month, where they made it all the way to the quarter-finals.
Their partnership appeared to be the start of a new friendship, with Williams showing support to Eala after her run to the fourth round of Wimbledon.
Williams and Eala were supposed to reunite at the Washington Open, but that is now confirmed not to be happening.
Venus Williams explains why she is not playing doubles with Alexandra Eala
Williams and Eala had originally been announced as a doubles pairing by the official Washington Open social media account.
While Williams is still in the doubles draw, she appears alongside Diana Shnaider instead of Eala.
When asked about this in her pre-tournament press conference at the Washington Open, Williams explained that she hoped to reunite with Eala at some point in the future.
“We had a great time playing at Bad Homburg so we were looking forward to playing again.” said Williams.
“Didn’t work out this time. Would love for there to be future times. We’ll see what happens.”
How many Grand Slams will Alex Eala win in her career? 🏆
She's just knocked out the defending Wimbledon champion!
Who is Venus Williams playing against in singles at the Washington Open?
As well as playing doubles at the Washington Open, Williams is also making her singles return.
Williams returned to the WTA Tour for the first time in 16 months at the Washington Open last year, where she won her first-round singles match against Peyton Stearns.
Since then, Williams has gone on an 11-match losing streak in singles, including her most recent defeat to Irina-Camelia Begu in Bad Homburg, where she served for the match.
It’s the end of the 2026 season… How many matches has Venus Williams won this year? Where is she ranked? Let us know in the comments👇
Williams will be up against it if she wants to return to winning ways in Washington D.C., as she has been drawn to play world number 28 Anastasia Potapova in the first round.
This will be a first-time meeting between the two players, with the main draw of the Washington Open starting on Monday, July 27.
