Venus Williams and Katie Boulter see dream partnership thwarted in Madrid

Venus Williams and Katie Boulter formed a dream partnership in Madrid that even saw the Brit get wedding tips as she awaits her own dream day. Venus also said that she preferred playing with her even more than Serena Williams.

But while they had a dream start to life as a duo at the Madrid Open, this ended this afternoon, ironically, to another veteran, Su-Wei Hsieh and also Sofia Kenin, the former Australian Open champion, in a similarly veteran teams with singles star combo.

Earlier in the tournament, they won as despite the fact they'd never played before. They defeated China's Jiang Xinyu and Xu Yifan 4-6 6-3 10-7.

"It was nice to play and it was meant to be," Williams said after the win. "She has great energy - I don't even know if Serena [Williams] has this energy."

Boulter gushed praise on Williams and was glad to have teamed up with someone who she had not planned to play with this week.

"Everyone came out here for an absolute icon," Boulter said.

"I had nerves coming in this morning but you [Venus] calmed me down in the warm-up. We just enjoyed it. We had the mindset of going out with a smile on our face."

Williams was also happy to give her new teammate advice after she got married herself last year. Boulter will get married to fellow tennis star Alex de Minaur later this year.

"I don't know if she's taking my advice," said Williams. "I hope she does. My only tip for her is to take your time, you don't get that moment back and you've just got to enjoy it fully and take some days off."

But today it was flashes of brilliance, but also a pretty comfortable win for Hsieh and Kenin, who surged through 6-4, 6-4 in Madrid. Will Boulter and Williams team up again? Time will tell but no doubt a week that Boulter won't ever forget.

"The partnership between Venus Williams and Katie Boulter in Madrid was a rare bridge between two eras of the WTA. While the 6-4, 6-4 defeat to the tactically astute Su-Wei Hsieh and Sofia Kenin brought their on-court journey to an end, the cultural impact of the pairing resonated far beyond the Caja Mágica. Venus’s presence on the doubles court—just a year after her own marriage—provided a stabilizing 'mentor' role for Boulter, who is navigating the pressure of being a British No. 1 while planning a high-profile wedding to Alex de Minaur.

Tactically, the duo showed flashes of brilliance; Williams’s reach at the net combined with Boulter’s flat, aggressive groundstrokes proved effective against traditional doubles specialists. Ultimately, the 'Hsieh factor'—defined by unorthodox angles and deceptive touch—was the difference, but the image of Venus Williams smiling while comparing her new partner's energy to her sister's remains the defining memory of the 2026 Madrid doubles draw."