Williams Sisters Set for Doubles Play at U.S. Open

Serena and Venus Williams will reunite on the tennis court at the U.S. Open in New York, playing doubles after a four-year gap. Their comeback match is scheduled for Friday night.

They will face Maya Joint—a player who triumphed over Serena at Wimbledon earlier this year—and Hao-Ching Chan in the first round of the women’s doubles tournament. Joint is a promising 20-year-old from Australia.

Serena, now 44, rejoined the sport this year after a four-year hiatus. Her Wimbledon contest with Joint ended in a 6-3, 6-7 (6), 6-3 defeat, and a knee injury forced her to withdraw from a planned doubles match with Venus. The 46-year-old Venus was also set to play at Wimbledon.

The sisters have a strong history at the U.S. Open, winning doubles titles in 1999 and 2009, and maintaining a record of 27 victories and 7 losses in their nine appearances. Their most recent appearance together at the tournament was in 2022, resulting in a first-round defeat during what was anticipated to be Serena’s last Flushing Meadows match.

Currently, Joint and Chan hold the No. 14 seed. Commenting on their upcoming match, Bethanie Mattek-Sands, a nine-time Grand Slam doubles champion, suggested that facing the Williams sisters in New York poses a significant challenge due to the dynamic crowd atmosphere.

Earlier in the week, Venus exited the singles tournament after a straight-set defeat to fellow American Sofia Kenin. The match, held late on Monday night, marked her 15th consecutive singles defeat, tracing back to her last singles victory in July 2025 in Washington.

“I don’t think I should have to,” Venus remarked about her tennis future. Her focus remains on recovery and preparation for her next event.

Recently, in mixed doubles, Serena and Carlos Alcaraz were eliminated in the quarterfinals by Belinda Bencic and Flavio Cobolli. The tight match ended with scores of 5-4 (4), 4-1, despite their strong debut together.