The Williams Sisters Reunite Their Iconic Doubles Team, Narrowly Losing in a Thrilling New York Show
Translated from English and summarized by DistantNews. Read the original for the full story.
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- Venus and Serena Williams reunited as a doubles team at the US Open four years after their previous appearance together at Flushing Meadows.
- The 46-year-old Venus and 44-year-old Serena narrowly lost to Taiwan’s Hao-Ching Chan and Australia’s Maya Joint, 6-3, 6-7 (6), 7-6 (10-7), after surrendering a 5-0 lead in the final tiebreak.
- The sisters smiled after the match, while Joint called playing against the tennis legends a special experience for both teams.
“Welcome to the Williams Show,” read one fan’s sign inside Arthur Ashe Stadium on Friday night. Venus and Serena Williams delivered the kind of spectacle the crowd had come to see, even though their comeback as a doubles team ended in a narrow defeat.
A quarter-century after they first faced each other in the 2001 US Open final, the sisters showed that they could still push a top-level team to the limit. Venus, 46, and Serena, 44, lost to Hao-Ching Chan of Taiwan and Maya Joint of Australia, 6-3, 6-7 (6), 7-6 (10-7), in a three-set thriller.
It was an amazing match. They played really well, and I think just the atmosphere on the court ... I don’t think either of us has experienced quite like that before. And playing two legends of the game is just a super special moment that we might not get again.
The decisive moment came in the final 10-point tiebreak. The Williams sisters built a 5-0 lead but could not hold it, allowing Chan and Joint to complete the comeback. The packed evening crowd remained vocal throughout, and the sisters left the court smiling despite the result. They declined to speak with reporters afterward.
Something’s got to give.
“It was an amazing match,” Joint said. “They played really well, and I think just the atmosphere on the court ... I don’t think either of us has experienced quite like that before. And playing two legends of the game is just a super special moment that we might not get again.”
The appearance came four years after the sisters last played doubles together at Flushing Meadows. That match followed Serena’s announcement that she was “evolving away from tennis” in a Vogue essay, where she also wrote, “Something’s got to give.” This time, she returned at the request of her daughter Olympia, who told her, “You need to play with Auntie VeVe.” Serena said Olympia had wanted a younger sister, and later asked her mother to play again with Venus.
You need to play with Auntie VeVe.
The reunion took place at the tournament where Serena won six singles titles and Venus won two, including the 2001 final against Serena. Longtime fan Nonie Green summed up the feeling among supporters while waiting out a rain shower earlier in the week: “Father Time is undefeated. But I'm happy for them, even if they don’t win.” They did not win, but the Williams sisters gave New York the show their fans had hoped for.
Father Time is undefeated. But I'm happy for them, even if they don’t win.
About this summary
Originally published by Asharq Al-Awsat in English. Translated, summarized, and contextualized automatically by DistantNews, with a note on how the source frames the story. Not individually reviewed before publishing. How this works.
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