Venus Williams Switches DC Open Doubles Partner to Diana Shnaider

Filipina rising star Alexandra Eala withdrew from the women's doubles at the Mubadala DC Open, saying she lacks the physical and mental capacity to compete in both singles and doubles after returning from Wimbledon. She explained, "I think right now I can only do that for singles. I don’t have the capacity yet to be able to give my all in both events," and will focus on her singles match against Zheng Qinwen.

Seven‑time Grand Slam champion Venus Williams will therefore partner with Russian Diana Shnaider in the doubles draw. Williams said at a pre‑tournament press conference, "We had a great time playing at Bad Homburg, so we were looking forward to playing again. Didn’t work out this time. I would love for there to be future times. We'll see what happens." No official reason for the partnership change was given. Williams also entered the singles draw as a wildcard, facing Anastasia Potapova.

The former partnership had reached the quarterfinals at the Bad Homburg Open earlier in the season, sparking expectations for a repeat at Washington. Eala remains in the singles field, while Shnaider, a former Olympic gold‑medalist in doubles, brings a strong doubles résumé to the event.