Serena and Venus Williams Fall in US Open Doubles Return

Serena and Venus Williams’ return to Grand Slam doubles ended within the first spherical Friday, because the sisters misplaced to Chan Hao-Ching and Maya Joint 6-3, 6-7(8), 7-6(7) in a three-hour match on the US Open.

The Williams sisters, who obtained a wild card into the ladies’s doubles draw, have been enjoying their first Grand Slam collectively for the reason that 2022 US Open. Together they’ve gained 14 Grand Slam doubles titles, together with two on the US Open, together with three Olympic gold medals.

Chan and Joint took the primary set earlier than the Williamses rallied to pressure a second-set tiebreak, which they misplaced 8-6. In the deciding match tiebreak, Venus and Serena constructed a 5-0 lead earlier than a string of errors — together with consecutive pictures into the web and a Venus double fault — allowed Chan and Joint to win six of the following seven factors and shut out the match.

“They switched something,” Chan stated of the Williams sisters’ second-set changes. “They started to go [down the] line more in the second set.”

Joint described the ambiance as “super special,” including: “You’re not really going to get that again with many other players.” She stated she felt “relieved” afterward, having been “very nervous and very stressed during the match.”

Tennis reporter Ben Rothenberg stated on social media that the Williams sisters wouldn’t be out there to press after the match. Serena Williams equally skipped a compulsory press convention following her Wimbledon singles loss earlier this 12 months, issuing a press release on social media as an alternative.