Williams Sisters Fall in Three-Set US Open Doubles Comeback

Venus and Serena Williams made a high-profile return to Grand Slam doubles competition at the US Open, falling short in a hard-fought three-set opening-round match. Playing in a rare night session for first-round doubles at Arthur Ashe Stadium, the American pair lost to Taiwan’s Hao-Ching Chan and Australia’s Maya Joint 6-3, 6-7 (6), 7-6 (10-7).

A Tight Contest at Flushing Meadows

The match concluded in a deciding 10-point tiebreaker, where the Williams sisters established an early 5-0 advantage. However, Chan and Joint rallied to win ten of the next twelve points to secure the victory. Both Williams sisters served double faults during the final tiebreak.

Despite the narrow loss, the sisters left the court smiling while choosing not to address reporters following the match. Joint reflected on the experience afterwards, describing it as “an amazing match” and calling the opportunity to face the pair a “super special moment” given their stature in the sport.

Return to the Grand Slam Stage

The appearance marked the first time Venus Williams, 46, and Serena Williams, 44, teamed up at Flushing Meadows since the 2022 US Open, where they also suffered a first-round exit. Serena Williams had briefly stepped away from professional tennis following that tournament before resuming competition this summer.

During her singles return at Wimbledon earlier in the year, Serena Williams was eliminated in three sets by Joint. The sisters had intended to play doubles together at Wimbledon, but a knee injury sustained by Serena forced them to withdraw prior to their match. They subsequently competed together at the Cincinnati Open, where they also lost in a match tiebreaker.

A History of Success

Friday’s fixture took place 25 years after Venus and Serena Williams played against each other in the 2001 US Open singles final. The defeat brought their lifetime record as a doubles team at the US Open to 27 wins and 8 losses across 10 tournament appearances, including titles won in 1999 and 2009.

It was only the second time in their Grand Slam doubles careers that the sisters played a final-set tiebreak, with the previous instance occurring in the third round of the 2009 French Open.

Background

Venus and Serena Williams established one of the most successful partnerships in tennis history, combining to win 14 Grand Slam women’s doubles titles and remaining undefeated in major doubles finals. In addition to their Grand Slam trophies, the duo captured three Olympic gold medals in doubles in 2000, 2008, and 2012, and jointly held the world number one doubles ranking for eight weeks.