Venus Williams explains why she’s now teaming with Diana Shnaider in Washington instead of Alex Eala
Venus Williams was set to team with Alexandra Eala once again at the Washington Open, but that pair has been nixed just days before the event.
Williams and Eala first teamed together at Bad Homburg earlier this year and it proved to be a fairly successful combination.
Eala and Williams reached the quarter finals of the German event, before they were defeated by Tereza Mihalíková and Olivia Nicholls.
The pair were confirmed to play the Washington Open together, but that was changed at the last-minute. Instead, Williams will play alongside Diana Shnaider and Eala will not play the event.
Williams has explained the reason for the last minute change and why she is no longer playing with Eala in the United States’ capital.
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Speaking at her pre-tournament press conference, Williams said: “We had a great time playing at Bad Homburg so we were looking forward to playing again.
“[It] didn’t work out this time,” the multi-time Grand Slam champion added. “Would love for there to be future times. We’ll see what happens.”
Williams and Eala have played plenty of doubles throughout the year and they’ve enlisted the help of an array of talent from the WTA Tour.
Eala has played alongside the likes of Janice Tjen, Iva Jovic, and Nikola Bartunkova, while Williams has played with Elina Svitolina, Katie Boulter, and Leylah Fernandez.
Both Eala and Williams will also be competing in the singles event at the Washington Open and they have both been given tough first round matches.
Eala is set to play Olympic Gold Medalist and former Grand Slam finalist Qinwen Zheng, who has been granted a wildcard into the WTA 500 event.
Zheng has suffered from a multitude of injuries over the past year and currently sits outside the top 100 of the WTA Tour rankings, although she will provide a far tougher test than her ranking shows.
Williams, meanwhile, is set to play Anastasia Potapova in the first round. The American has been given a wildcard from the US event and Potapova is an unseeded entrant.
However, the star has shown real signs of promise across the WTA Tour so far this year, particularly during the European clay court swing.
Potapova reached the final of the Linz Open and the semi finals of the Madrid Open earlier this year. She followed it up by reaching the round of 16 at both the Italian Open and Roland Garros.
Hardcourts might be a different story, but she will provide a very difficult test for Williams, who is yet to win a singles match this year.
In fact, Williams’ last singles victory came a year ago exactly at the 2025 Washington Open. The American defeated Peyton Stearns in straight sets in her opening round match, before losing to Magdalena Frech in the next round.
