Williams Sisters Exit US Open Doubles in First Round

Serena and Venus Williams played together in the U.S. Open for the first time in four years, but lost their first-round doubles match to Maya Joint and Hao-Ching Chan with a score of 3-6, 7-6 (6), 6-7 (7). The match took place at Arthur Ashe Stadium, where they entertained 24,000 fans. Serena, returning after a four-year absence from the tournament, expressed her dislike for the term 'retirement' and mentioned her daughter Olympia's encouragement to play with Venus. The sisters rallied from a 4-1 deficit in the third set and led 5-0 in the tiebreak before ultimately losing 10 of the last 12 points. Joint praised the opportunity to play against the Williams sisters, while the sisters declined interview requests after the match. Venus has been competing in singles but has not won a match at the U.S. Open since 2025. The sisters last played together in the tournament in 2022, which was considered Serena's potential farewell.