Venus Williams is close to making an unwanted record after a tough loss at the Cincinnati Open.
Venus Williams is one of the greatest women’s tennis players ever, but since coming back to the tour in July 2025 after a year off, she’s had a really tough time.
On Friday, she lost in the first round of the Cincinnati Open, falling 6-2, 6-2 to Emilia Arango.
At 46 years old and ranked 615th, Venus got a wildcard entry into the tournament—one where she made the final 12 years ago. But this time, the young Colombian player was clearly the better player.
Interestingly, Arango was born just a few months after Venus won her first Grand Slam in 2000. Now, 26 years later, Arango said playing Venus felt “surreal.”
“When the draw came out and I saw her name, I thought, ‘Wow, this is amazing,’” Arango said after winning in straight sets. “I used to watch her on TV growing up, so getting to play her is really special.”
It’s sad for many tennis fans to see Venus, a seven-time Grand Slam winner and former world number one, struggle like this. She doesn’t look like the player she once was on the court.
Unfortunately, these losses could put her in a tough spot in tennis history—not for the records she set, but for a losing streak. This match marked her 11th loss of the season while playing on wildcard entries and her 14th straight defeat since July last year.
Only a few women in WTA history have lost more matches in a row. Madeleine Pegel lost 29 straight between 1968 and 1972. Others with long losing streaks include Shuai Zhang with 24, and Arantxa Rus and Sandy Collins with 17 each.
If Venus loses her next singles match, she would tie for fifth place on this unwanted list, matching Kristina Mladenovic’s 15 losses in a row from 2017-2018.
Venus isn’t done yet, though. She’ll be back on the court Sunday playing doubles with her sister Serena at the Cincinnati Open against Marta Kostyuk and Peyton Stearns.
While it’s impressive that Venus is still competing after so many years, some people feel that her continued losses this year are hurting her legacy.
Venus has accepted wildcards into 11 events so far in 2026, and even though she lost again, she found some positives in her most recent match. She felt she controlled many of the rallies but just couldn’t finish the points the way she wanted.
The young 26-year-old Arango won 71% of her first-serve points and an incredible 90% of her second-serve points, clearly showing why she was the better player.
Venus will need to bring a much stronger game in Sunday’s doubles match to avoid more tough moments.