US Open: Serena and Venus Williams suffered a 3-hour marathon exit from the first round of the women’s doubles
Serena and Venus Williams staged a stunning comeback against 14th seeds Maye Joint and Hao-Ching Chan at the US Open on Saturday, recovering from 1-4 down in the deciding set before eventually losing a dramatic first-round match at Arthur Ashe Stadium.
The Williams sisters, who have combined to win 14 Grand Slam women’s doubles titles, lost 3-6, 7-6(6), (the official match tiebreak score) in 3 hours and 2 minutes, ending their first Grand Slam campaign as a pair since 2022.
Serena, who recently returned to competitive tennis, was given a wild card by US Open officials to reunite with her sister. But despite flashes of the tennis that made the pair one of the most successful doubles teams in history, the Americans were unable to complete their comeback.
Joint and Chan took control early, winning the opening set 6-3. However, the Williams sisters gradually began to find their rhythm and fought their way back into the competition.
They eventually forced a tiebreak in the second set, the pressure inside Arthur Ashe Stadium reaching another level. With the home crowd firmly behind the American legends, Serena and Venus cruised to a tight breaker to win 8-6 and force a deciding set.
The third set initially looked like it might get away from the Williams sisters.
Joint and Chan moved 4-1 ahead and seemed to take command of the match. The fourteenth seed was just two matches away from ending the sisters’ grand slam comeback in the first round.
But the Williams sisters fought back.
They broke in the seventh game and then held serve, clawing their way back into the match and sending the crowd into another frenzy. Joint and Chan, who had looked comfortable earlier in the set, suddenly found themselves under immense pressure as the home fans rallied behind the American duo.
To the Williams sisters’ credit, they continued to lean on the strengths that have made them such a destructive doubles team over the years. Serena’s imposing presence at the net made life difficult for the Aussie-Taiwanese pair, with the 44-year-old producing crisp saves and showing that even on her Grand Slam return, her instincts at the net remained intact.
Just when it looked like Serena and Venus might earn another break, Joint and Chan held their serve to take a 5-4 lead in the deciding set.
The Williams sisters now served to stay in the match.
They held their serve but couldn’t find another break against Joint and Chan. The 14th seed had the nerve to convert the deciding set into a 10-point match tiebreak.
Serena and Venus made a sensational start to the breaker.
The Williams sisters raced to a 5-0 lead, with Serena’s work at the net once again proving key. Joint and Chan suddenly struggled to find their rhythm as the entire Arthur Ashe Stadium roared for the American legends.
But the match turned again.
A pair of crucial double faults by the Williams sisters helped Joint and Chan get back into the tiebreak. The 14th seed slowly erased the deficit as Serena and Venus struggled to maintain the level that put them 5-0 up.
Joint and Chan completed the comeback in a match tiebreak, winning 10-7 to end the Williams sisters’ remarkable fight.
It was a heartbreaking end to a match for Serena and Venus that saw them twice fight back from difficult positions.
The sisters’ return to Flushing Meadows was one of the biggest stories of this year’s US Open. They last played together in the 2022 tournament, Serena’s final appearance before retiring from professional tennis.
Four years later, the sisters were back on the same court.
The USTA handed Serena and Venus a wild card into the women’s doubles draw, giving them another chance to add to their remarkable legacy at the tournament. Together, they have won 14 Grand Slam doubles titles, including two US Open crowns in 1999 and 2009, as well as four Olympic gold medals.
Their return generated considerable excitement earlier this year when they reunited at the Cincinnati Open, where they played together for the first time since 2022. However, that campaign ended in the opening round.
This time they came much closer to extending their run in New York. They dropped the opening set, rallied for victory in the second, and then rallied from a 1-4 deficit in the deciding set. In the end, however, they lacked a fairytale return.
– The end
Issued by:
Kingshuk Kusari
Published on:
05 Sep 2026 07:51 IST