Venus Williams misplaced her first-round singles match on the 2026 US Open on Monday in circumstances historic for his or her inconvenience — a 12:13 a.m. begin that pushed the 46-year-old’s newest Grand Slam exit deep into the evening and prolonged her singles dropping streak to 14 consecutive matches.
Sofia Kenin defeated Williams 6-2, 7-6(6) on Arthur Ashe Stadium, finishing the match at 2:01 a.m. in what grew to become each the newest first-round begin and the newest first-round end in US Open historical past — and the third-latest end for a girls’s match at any stage of the event. The timing was a consequence of Novak Djokovic’s four-hour, 36-minute upset loss to Mariano Navone, which consumed the night program and left nothing for the gamers who adopted however the small hours.
Williams dropped the primary set in 32 minutes, then rallied within the second, preventing again from 4-2 right down to drive a tiebreak. She held set factors there earlier than Kenin closed it out.
“Venus obviously was playing some amazing tennis,” Kenin mentioned. “I just tried to keep fighting. I didn’t feel 100% game-wise, some nerves, but I tried to do the best to stay strong in those moments.”
Williams, making her twenty sixth look on the US Open, acknowledged the circumstances with out utilizing them as an excuse.
“It’s not ideal. I would have preferred something else, definitely. It wasn’t great for either of us, so I think we both tried our best.”
She credited her effort within the second set.
“I had a lot of great moments. As the match progressed, I just kept pushing myself to try to find my best tennis and to find my rhythm.”
The defeat prolonged a dropping streak that dates to July 2025 and now stands at 14 consecutive matches. Williams has misplaced within the first spherical on the US Open in six straight appearances; she final received right here in 2019.
When requested about her tennis future after the match, she declined to look forward.
“I don’t think I should have to. My mind is fully focused on that: how I recover from this completely insane evening and get ready for the next one.”
Williams stays within the event. She and Serena maintain a wild-card entry for the ladies’s doubles draw, with their first match scheduled for later this week. It will mark their first Grand Slam doubles look collectively for the reason that 2022 US Open, the place they misplaced within the first spherical to Lucie Hradecká and Linda Nosková.
The sisters had deliberate doubles at Wimbledon this summer time however Serena withdrew after a knee damage in her singles opener. They competed collectively on the Western & Southern Open in Cincinnati, falling within the first spherical to Marta Kostyuk and Peyton Stearns. The Williams sisters have received the US Open doubles title twice — in 1999 and 2009 — and maintain 14 Grand Slam doubles titles mixed.
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