American wildcard Sofia Kenin defeated 46-year-old Venus Williams 6-2, 7-6(6) in a first-round match at the US Open held at Arthur Ashe Stadium in New York. The match, which began past midnight, marked the latest start in women's tournament history. Williams, who was playing as a wildcard in her 96th career Grand Slam main draw appearance, expressed appreciation for the fans who stayed to watch her play.
Kenin broke serve in the opening game and maintained a lead throughout the first set, finishing it without trailing. Williams managed to break back to reduce the deficit to 3-1 but lost her serve again, allowing Kenin to close out the set. In the second set, Kenin again took an early lead, but Williams showed moments of her past form, struggling with her second serve.
Kenin saved four break points to level the score at 5-5, and despite Williams holding serve to lead 6-5, Kenin forced a tiebreak. Williams had seven set points in the tiebreak but was unable to convert any, leading to Kenin's victory.
Williams commented on the late start of the match, stating, "I just don’t know any other sport where you have to start that late. I definitely think there’s room for improvement there." Kenin, the 2020 Australian Open champion, will next face Jessica Pegula.
In other matches, Daniil Medvedev and Pegula advanced with ease, while Barbora Krejcikova became the first seeded player to exit the tournament. Several players, including Marin Cilic and Casper Ruud, withdrew due to injuries shortly after the tournament began.