Venus Williams has suffered another first-round exit after losing in straight sets to Emiliana Arango at the Cincinnati Open.

The 46-year-old lost 6-2 6-2 in just 66 minutes as her losing streak on the WTA Tour extended to 14 matches.

Arango showed no signs of being overwhelmed by the pressure of facing a seven-time grand slam champion, converting a break point in the opening game.

Though the Colombian had to save a break point of her own in the fourth game, she broke Williams' serve again on her way to winning the first set.

And home favourite Williams was unable to give the Cincinnati crowd something to cheer about as two early breaks in the second saw Arango move into a 4-0 lead.

Arango made no mistake from there on out, clinching victory and second-round clash against recent Canadian Open champion Iga Swiatek with her first match point.

Job done 

Round 2 calling for Emiliana Arango, as she defeats Williams 6-2, 6-2 in Cincinnati!#CincyTennis pic.twitter.com/lvEMalHnAQ

— wta (@WTA) August 14, 2026

Tough times pile on for Williams

No one expected Williams to return as the player she once was on Tour, but the veteran would have certainly hoped to be more competitive.

Her last win came in July 2025, when she defeated Peyton Stearns in the Washington Open before losing to Magdalena Frech in the second round.

Williams has now also failed to win a set across her last three matches, while she has won just one across her last six outings.

She will be hoping to fare better in the doubles in Cincinnati, where she will feature alongside her sister, Serena, but Venus has plenty of work to do in the singles.

Arango, meanwhile, now has the chance to claim another scalp ahead of a clash with world number five Swiatek.