In the end, after so much toil and admirable fight, defeat came swiftly for one of the greatest doubles teams to ever share a tennis court. Upon their return to prime time in New York, Venus and Serena Williams fought desperately to overturn the various deficits they found themselves in over three hours inside a thunderous Arthur Ashe Stadium.
They came close. The Williams sisters had clawed their way back into the match after trailing a 1-4 in their final set against Chan Hao-ching and Maya Joint, and they established a 5-0 lead in the third set tie-break. Just as they appeared to be on the verge of victory, they were brushed aside, losing 6-3, 6-7 (6), 7-6 (7) in the first round of the US Open.
This was one of the few times in recent tennis history where a player’s doubles appearance seemed far more important than their singles contributions. While the 44-year-old Serena had opted out of taking a singles wildcard for the US Open after suffering a knee injury during her singles comeback at Wimbledon in July against Joint, the 46-year-old Venus lost in the singles first round here to Sofia Kenin, her 15th consecutive singles loss. No matter, from the moment it became clear that the Williams sisters were aiming to compete alongside each other in doubles again, this was the match that people wanted to see.
Before this summer, when the Williams sisters finally rejoined forces at the Cincinnati Open, losing in a tight first round battle, the last time Venus and Serena had competed together was here in 2022, supposedly Serena’s final tournament. Serena had been extremely impressive in her mixed doubles appearance alongside Carlos Alcaraz this year, who she had even outperformed for a large part of her matches. Here, perhaps under the additional pressure alongside her sister, the four years of rust was still visible on Serena’s game as she struggled badly throughout the match.
A week after cracking 120mph aces on pressure points, Serena had so many troubles with her serve that, by the final set, she had been reduced to simply rolling in her first serve and she similarly struggled to land any returns. Venus, meanwhile, was often the best player on the court, but the pair paid for her failure to put away key volleys deep in the match.
Regardless, the Williams sisters fought desperately for three hours, produced numerous moments of brilliance and nearly defeated the 14th seed team in the draw. They were eventually outplayed by a solid pairing in Joint, a top 30 doubles player, and the former world No 5 and Wimbledon finalist Chan. The Australian-Taiwanese pair were at times overwhelmed by the increasingly intense crowd inside Arthur Ashe Stadium and their indefatigable opponents. But in the decisive moments deep in the final set tie-break they handled business as they should, absorbing the Williams sisters’ first strike while tidying up around the net.
Serena has repeatedly stressed that, in stark contrast to the rest of her career when she expected herself to win every tournament she entered, this comeback is not about winning. She is back solely to enjoy herself and to show her daughters, Olympia and Adira, the world she used to inhabit. She will not be competing again for long. Despite the fact that Serena has compiled a 1-4 record in singles and women’s doubles since her return, it has been enjoyable to again see her legendary service motion, feel her competitive spirit and hear her roar. She also has clearly enjoyed the feeling of being back in the arena.
The big question for both players, though, is when this will finally end. From the moment Serena announced her return, retiring hand-in-hand at the US Open seemed like the perfect ending to their story. But neither player gave any indication that this might be their last appearance as they discreetly departed the court and later declined to conduct a post-match press conference.
It has now been over three decades since Venus and Serena started their careers, Venus in 1994 and Serena in 1995. Venus made her iconic breakthrough run to the US Open final at the age of 17 in 1997, losing to Martina Hingis. Serena won her first grand slam title here at 17 in 1999, beating Hingis. The following year, Venus followed her little sister by winning her first US Open singles title. Then in 2001 at the US Open they became the first pair of siblings in history to face each other in a grand slam final.
All those years later, here they are. Still out there on Arthur Ashe Stadium, still fighting till the death, still trying hard to overcome yet painfully coming up short. Although they did not leave the court with a victory, they did offer a full, passionate crowd of 23,000 spectators a reminder of their unending passion and love for the sport that has defined their lives for so long.
