Venus and Serena Williams exit US Open in first-round return to New York

Venus and Serena Williams’ return to the US Open ended in the first round after Hao-Ching Chan and Maya Joint overturned a 5-0 deficit in the deciding super tiebreak.

The Taiwanese-Australian pair defeated the sisters 6-3, 6-7(6), 7-6(7) after more than three hours on Arthur Ashe Stadium. Chan and Joint won 10 of the final 12 points to take the match.

The defeat came during the Williams sisters’ first joint appearance in New York since 2022. Serena, 44, and Venus, 46, entered with a 31-2 record in Grand Slam first rounds. They won the US Open doubles title together in 1999 and 2009.

The sisters had planned to return at Wimbledon after four years without competing together, but Serena injured herself during a singles match against Joint. They instead reunited at the Cincinnati Open two weeks ago, where they also lost in the first round. Venus had remained active and reached the US Open quarterfinals in 2025 with Canada’s Leylah Fernandez.

Chan and Joint were playing only their fourth tournament as a team. They began their partnership at the WTA 250 event in Memphis just over a month ago and reached the final.