Serena and Venus Williams were knocked out in the first round of the women’s doubles at the US Open on September 4, 2026, falling in a three-hour marathon against Maya Joint and Chan Hao-ching after a dramatic 10-point tiebreaker at Arthur Ashe Stadium.
Four years after what looked like their final appearance in Flushing Meadows, the legendary sisters returned to Grand Slam competition on Friday night in front of 23,000 adoring fans. Receiving a wildcard from tournament organizers, the pair took to the court to a hero’s welcome. Serena walked out wearing a custom bomber jacket decorated with patches marking her previous singles and doubles titles at the tournament, while Venus carried a matching pink bag.
The Battle Against Joint and Chan at Arthur Ashe Stadium
Across the net stood Australia’s Maya Joint and Taiwan’s Chan Hao-ching, the 14th seeds in the women’s doubles draw. Joint entered the match carrying recent history against Serena, having defeated the 23-time Grand Slam singles champion in three sets at Wimbledon earlier in the summer. That singles encounter had ended prematurely for Serena’s Wimbledon plans when she sustained a knee injury, forcing a withdrawal from the planned doubles draw with Venus.
The first set belonged firmly to the younger pair. Joint and Chan controlled the opening exchanges, neutralizing the Williams sisters’ power game and closing out the set 6-3. But the American icons answered in the second. They kept pace through tight service games, forced a tiebreak, and edged it 8-6 to level the match.
A Deciding Set Thriller and a Collapsing Tiebreaker
The momentum shifted sharply in the third set as Joint and Chan raced out to a 4-1 lead, putting the 14th seeds just two games away from an upset win. True to their history, the Williams sisters mounted a fierce counter-attack. They broke back in the seventh game and held serve, sending the stadium into a frenzy and pushing the contest into a decisive 10-point match tiebreak.
What followed was a stunning twist. Serena and Venus raced into a 5-0 lead in the tiebreak, backed by vintage net interceptions from Serena and an explosive roar from the stands. Yet the advantage evaporated just as quickly.
Joint added of her childhood idols: 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.
Joint and Chan now hold a 2-0 record against Serena across singles and doubles competitions this season.
Reflections on Cincinnati and the Uncertainty Ahead
The defeat mirrors the pair’s summer reunion at the Cincinnati Open, where Serena and Venus accepted a wildcard and dropped a tight opening-round thriller 2-6, 6-1, 10-8 to Marta Kostyuk and Peyton Stearns after nearly erasing a 6-0 deficit in the tiebreak. That tournament marked their first appearance together outside a Grand Slam since the 2016 Italian Open.
“I thought it was fun. I thought it was special. It was really cool to be able to do this again.”
Serena Williams, post-match comments via Tico Times
Before stepping onto the court in New York, Serena outlined her approach to her return, telling reporters that she was taking it one match at a time and enjoying the process of getting stronger without a rigid agenda.
Whether the sisters will step onto a professional doubles court together again remains entirely uncertain. But as Serena and Venus walked off Arthur Ashe Stadium waving to a standing ovation, their latest Flushing Meadows appearance transformed a first-round exit into an enduring celebration of their legacy in tennis.
