Nine days ago, the Mubadala DC Open announced that Venus Williams and Alexandra Eala would team up in the women’s doubles draw. However, something changed behind the scenes, and the official doubles draw surprisingly lists Williams alongside Diana Shnaider instead.
Williams and the fast-rising Filipina star Eala had been awarded a wildcard into the doubles event. The 14-time Grand Slam doubles champion and the 21-year-old had already joined forces last month at the WTA 500 Bad Homburg Open in Germany, where they won their opening match against Alexandra Osborne and Catherine Harrison before falling in the quarterfinals.
Inspiring multiple generations 🤩#mubadaladcopen pic.twitter.com/n3jPow6ZGb
— Mubadala DC Open (@mubadaladcopen) July 24, 2026
Just days ago, the Mubadala DC Open shared photos and a video of Williams and Eala practicing together in Washington, leaving fans puzzled when the doubles draw listed Shnaider as Williams’ partner instead.
No official explanation has been given for the change in partnership, but Williams briefly addressed the situation to the press in Washington:
We had a great time playing at Bad Homburg so we were looking forward to playing again. Didn’t work out this time. Would love for there to be future times. We’ll see what happens.
Eala remains in the singles draw, where she opens against Zheng Qinwen. A victory would set up a second-round meeting with defending champion Leylah Fernandez or Magda Linette.
Williams is also competing in singles as a wildcard, where she will face Anastasia Potapova in the opening round. Interestingly, if she finally records her first main-draw singles victory of the 2026 season, her second-round opponent would be her doubles partner Shnaider, who is the fourth seed and received a first-round bye. Washington holds special significance for the seven-time Grand Slam singles champion, as it was the site of her comeback a year ago after a 16-month absence from the tour.
