Serena and Venus Williams came within touching distance of a stunning comeback against 14th seeds Maya Joint and Hao-Ching Chan at the US Open on Saturday. Down 1-4 in the deciding set, the legendary duo pushed the match into a 10-point tie-break, before eventually losing a dramatic first-round contest at Arthur Ashe Stadium.
The Williams sisters, who have won 14 Grand Slam women’s doubles titles together, went down 3-6, 7-6(6), 7-10 in a marathon contest which lasted for 3 hours and 2 minutes, bringing an end to their first Grand Slam campaign as a pair since 2022.
Serena, who recently returned to competitive tennis, had been given a wildcard by the US Open authorities to reunite with her sister. But despite producing flashes of the tennis that made the pair one of the most successful doubles teams in history, the Americans could not complete their comeback.
SERENA-VENUS ROLL BACK THE YEARS
Joint and Chan took control early, winning the opening set 6-3. The Williams sisters, however, gradually began to find their rhythm and fought their way back into the contest.
They eventually forced a tiebreak in the second set, with the pressure inside Arthur Ashe Stadium reaching another level. With the home crowd firmly behind the American legends, Serena and Venus navigated a tense breaker to win 8-6 and force a deciding set.
The third set initially looked like it might slip away from the Williams sisters.
Joint and Chan moved 4-1 ahead and appeared to have taken command of the contest. The 14th seeds were just two games away from ending the sisters’ Grand Slam return in the first round.
But the Williams sisters fought back.
They broke back in the seventh game and then held their serve, bringing themselves back into the contest and sending the crowd into another frenzy. Joint and Chan, who had looked comfortable earlier in the set, suddenly found themselves under immense pressure as the home fans rallied behind the American duo.
To the Williams sisters’ credit, they continued to lean on the strengths that had made them such a destructive doubles team over the years. Serena’s imposing presence at the net made life difficult for the Australian-Taiwanese pair, with the 44-year-old producing sharp interceptions and showing that, even on her Grand Slam return, her instincts at the net remained intact.
Just when it looked as though Serena and Venus might earn another break, Joint and Chan managed to hold their serve, just about, to take a 5-4 lead in the deciding set.
The Williams sisters were now serving to stay in the match.
They held on to their serve but could not find another break against Joint and Chan. The 14th seeds held their nerve to take the deciding set into a 10-point match tiebreak.
WILLIAMS SISTERS GIVE UP 5-0 LEAD
Serena and Venus made a sensational start to the breaker.
The Williams sisters raced into a 5-0 lead, with Serena’s work at the net once again proving crucial. Joint and Chan suddenly struggled to find their rhythm as the entire Arthur Ashe Stadium roared for the American legends.
But the match swung again.
A couple of crucial double faults from the Williams sisters helped Joint and Chan claw their way back into the tiebreak. The 14th seeds slowly erased the deficit, while Serena and Venus struggled to maintain the level that had taken them to a 5-0 lead.
Joint and Chan completed the comeback in the match tiebreak, winning 10-7 to end the Williams sisters’ remarkable fightback.
For Serena and Venus, it was a heartbreaking end to a match in which they had twice fought their way back from difficult positions.
WILLIAMS SISTERS BID GOODBYE
The sisters’ return to Flushing Meadows had been one of the biggest stories of this year’s US Open. They had last played together at the tournament in 2022, when Serena made her final appearance before stepping away from professional tennis.
Four years later, the sisters were back on the same court.
The USTA handed Serena and Venus a wildcard for the women’s doubles draw, giving them another chance to add to a remarkable shared legacy at the tournament. Together, they have won 14 Grand Slam doubles titles, including two US Open crowns in 1999 and 2009, as well as four Olympic gold medals.
Their return had already generated considerable excitement earlier this year when they reunited at the Cincinnati Open, playing together for the first time since 2022. That campaign, however, ended in the opening round.
This time, they came much closer to extending their run in New York. They had lost the opening set, fought back to win the second and then recovered from 1-4 down in the deciding set. In the end, though, they fell just short of a fairytale comeback.
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