Serena Williams has signed up to play Cincinnati and now she is expected to play two tournaments leading up to the US Open.
On Tuesday, the Cincinnati organizers released their entry list and Williams’ name popped up.
Williams, 40, was out for 12 months before returning to singles action at Wimbledon.
Last week, Williams was confirmed for Montreal, which kicks off on August 8.
Now, it has been revealed the Williams also plans to compete in Cincinnati, which is scheduled to take place between August 15-21.
Serena Williams has now entered Cincinnati in addition to Toronto ahead of the US Open.
The last time Serena played in both Canada and Cincinnati? 2015 as she prepared for her grand slam attempt. A few things have happened since then.
— Tumaini Carayol (@tumcarayol) July 19, 2022
Williams is a two-time champion in Cincinnati
Williams debuted at the Cincinnati tournament in 2006 and since then has made nine appearances at the tournament.
In her Cincinnati debut, Williams reached the semifinal before losing to Vera Zvonareva.
Surprisingly, it took Williams some time before she reached her first final in Cincinnati.
In her fifth Cincinnati appearance, which came in 2013, Williams finally reached the final match at the tournament.
In her first Cincinnati final, Williams suffered a surprise defeat to Victoria Azarenka.
Williams maybe didn’t win her first Cincinnati titles in 2013 but then clinched back-to-back Cincinnati titles in 2014 and 2015.
After winning back-to-back Cincinnati titles, Williams wasn’t seen in Cincinnati again until 2018.
In her return to Cincinnati, Williams didn’t make it far as she was beaten by Petra Kvitova in the second round.
In 2020, when the Cincinnati event was held in New York because of the pandemic, Williams lost to Maria Sakkari in the last-16.
Now, Williams is set to make her 10th appearance at the Cincinnati tournament.
After Cincinnati, Williams will head to New York for the US Open.
“When you’re at home, especially in New York, and the US Open, that being the first place I’ve won a Grand Slam, is something that’s always super special,” Williams said. “Your first time is always special. There’s definitely lots of motivation to get better and to play at home.”