Williams Sisters Exit US Open Doubles in Thrilling Match

Serena and Venus Williams walked back into Arthur Ashe Stadium on Friday night and, for three hours, time politely stepped aside.

The scoreline will show a first-round exit in the US Open women’s doubles: a 6-3 6-7 (8-6) 7-6 (10-7) defeat to Maya Joint and Chan Hao-Ching in a gripping, three-hour-and-two-minute contest. It will not show the noise, the nostalgia, or the way 23,000 people tried to will two legends over the line.

A comeback built on history

This was their first Grand Slam together since the 2022 US Open. Twenty-seven years since they first won this title. Fourteen major doubles trophies as a team, two of them in New York. Three Olympic gold medals. Another 30 Grand Slam singles titles between them. That weight of history hung over every changeover, every second serve, every roar from the stands.

Serena has said the comeback was sparked by a suggestion from her daughter. On this evidence, the idea lit a fire under the entire arena.

At 44 and 46, the sisters arrived as wild cards in name only. Every step onto Ashe felt like a coronation. Every winner detonated. The crowd didn’t so much watch as participate, rising and falling with every momentum swing.

Joint’s summer of a lifetime

Across the net, a very different story was unfolding. Maya Joint, 20 years old and riding the wave of a breakout summer, had already stunned Serena on Centre Court at Wimbledon in singles. Now she walked into Arthur Ashe, under the lights, facing the same icon again — this time with Venus alongside her.

“Being able to play against such legends of the game is super special,” Joint said on court afterward. She looked almost dazed by the scale of it all. “I'm lost for words to think of it. She's my idol, both of them. I grew up in Michigan so I always looked up to them. Being able to play them twice is amazing.”

Her words matched the occasion. This was not just a match; it was a rite of passage.

The sisters turn back the clock

For long stretches, the Williams sisters made the years disappear. There was that familiar pattern: Venus carving open the court with a sharp, penetrating volley, Serena stepping in and unloading on the next ball. One exchange ended with Serena cracking a swinging winner at the net, and Ashe exploded, everyone on their feet as if it were 2002 again.

Serena’s serve, which had looked sharp at Wimbledon and during her mixed doubles outing with Carlos Alcaraz last week, misfired at key moments. Two breaks cost them the opening set, and for a while the upset felt inevitable.

Then the old defiance kicked in.

They dragged the second set into a tie-break, surviving waves of pressure, saving chances, clinging on. On their fifth set point, Joint finally blinked, sending an overhead long. The roar that followed sounded less like celebration and more like gratitude. The match was still alive. So were they.

A brutal final act

The decider became a test of nerve and endurance. Remarkably, it was the first time the sisters had gone beyond 5-5 in a third set since 2001. The tension climbed with every game, every hold, every missed opportunity.

The match, fittingly, went to a deciding tie-break. The Williamses surged out to a 5-0 lead. Ashe sensed the finish. This, surely, was the script: one more comeback, one more escape, one more chapter in a book that already feels endless.

Then it all slipped.

Joint and Chan refused to fold, chipping away at the deficit point by point. The errors crept in on the Williams side, the timing a fraction off, the margins suddenly brutal. The 5-0 lead vanished. So did the crowd’s certainty.

At 9-7, Chan stepped forward and cut off a volley to end it. No let-cord drama. No controversy. Just a clean, decisive blow that closed the door on the comeback and handed Joint another career-defining win over Serena.

The US Tennis Association confirmed the sisters would not be available for comment. They walked off without a farewell speech, without a wave that said “this is it.” Only more questions about what comes next.

One hint came from the commentary box. Caroline Wozniacki, working for ESPN, revealed she believes Serena wants to return to singles next year. If that proves true, this night may yet be remembered as a prelude, not an epilogue.

Tsitsipas breaks new ground, Tiafoe cruises

On a day heavy with emotion in the doubles, the singles draw moved with its own quiet significance.

Stefanos Tsitsipas, revitalised and increasingly dangerous on hard courts again, shook off a poor start to book a career-first trip to the US Open fourth round. The Greek dropped the opening set 2-6 to 18th seed Jiri Lehecka, then surged through the gears to win 2-6 6-1 7-6 (7-3) 6-1. Once he steadied his serve and found his range off the forehand, Lehecka’s resistance crumbled.

American 11th seed Frances Tiafoe delivered a far more straightforward performance, easing past Monaco’s Valentin Vacherot 6-4 6-2 6-4. No theatrics, no marathon, just solid, controlled tennis from a player who knows this tournament can change the shape of his season.

But even their wins felt like background noise on a night when two of the sport’s greatest walked back into the spotlight, rolled back the years, built a 5-0 lead in a deciding tie-break — and still found that in New York, even legends don’t always get the ending they deserve.