Fans celebrate Williams sisters’ US Open return despite first-round defeat

The score mattered less than the celebration at Arthur Ashe Stadium, where 23,000 fans welcomed Serena and Venus Williams back to the US Open. Four years after what had seemed to be their final farewell, the sisters returned to the doubles court and turned a first-round defeat into an emotional tennis occasion.

Maya Joint of Australia and Taiwan’s Chan Hao-ching won 6-3, 6-7(6), 7-6(10-7), securing the deciding super tie-break after more than three hours. Yet throughout much of the match, the crowd greeted every successful Williams point with a roar. The sisters fought back after losing the first set and forced a third, pushed along by supporters determined to see their longtime idols win.

Serena, 44, wore a specially designed bomber jacket decorated with patches marking her US Open singles and doubles titles. Venus, 46, stood beside her, and both carried matching pink bags. Their return carried the weight of careers that produced 14 Grand Slam doubles titles together, two US Open doubles titles and three Olympic gold medals. They also won 30 more Grand Slam titles in singles.

“

Playing against such legends of the sport is truly a special feeling.

Joint and Chan, the 14th seeds, resisted the hostile atmosphere and held on in the final tie-break. “Playing against such legends of the sport is truly a special feeling,” Joint said on court. The 20-year-old Australian had previously beaten Serena at Wimbledon in the only singles match of Serena’s comeback. “I have no words to describe it,” Joint said of playing the sisters again. “She is my role model, both of them are my role models.”

The sisters had withdrawn from the Wimbledon doubles tournament after Serena suffered a knee injury in singles, making New York the setting for the return fans had awaited. They arrived without much recent doubles form after losing in three sets to Marta Kostyuk and Peyton Stearns in Cincinnati. Serena had already created another New York highlight by reaching the mixed-doubles quarterfinals with Carlos Alcaraz.

“

I have no words to describe it. She is my role model, both of them are my role models.