Williams Sisters Fall in Thrilling Return to US Open Doubles

Serena and Venus Williams came within five points of victory in the deciding tiebreaker, then saw their US Open doubles comeback end in a dramatic defeat. Taiwan’s Chan Hao-ching and Australia’s Maya Joint recovered to win 6-3, 6-7 (6/8), 7-6 (10/7) at Arthur Ashe Stadium.

The sisters trailed early in the third set but fought back after Chan and Joint moved 4-2 ahead. They then led the deciding 10-point tiebreaker 5-0 before their opponents turned the match around and secured the victory.

The Williamses showed flashes of their best tennis. Serena was especially dangerous at the net, although her serve caused problems. After losing the first set, they held serve throughout the second and leveled the match in the tiebreaker. They struck 20 winners in that set, prompting loud celebrations when Maya Joint sent an overhead long.

The sisters own 14 Grand Slam doubles titles, including two US Open championships. They had not played Grand Slam doubles together since the 2022 US Open and last won a title as a pair at Roland Garros in 2018.

For Serena, the 23-time Grand Slam singles champion, the match was her first return to Flushing Meadows since 2022. Joint, who had beaten Serena in a Wimbledon singles match, said the atmosphere at Arthur Ashe Stadium felt “surreal” and called playing against the sisters “super special.”

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The atmosphere was surreal. Being able to play against such legends of the game is super special.