NEW YORK — Serena and Venus Williams were just five points away from a storybook return to the US Open.
Instead, the legendary sisters watched a 5-0 lead disappear in the deciding tiebreak, ending their much-anticipated women’s doubles comeback with a heartbreaking first-round defeat.
The Williams sisters fell to 14th seeds Chan Hao-ching of Taiwan and Maya Joint of Australia, 6-3, 6-7(6), 7-6(10-7) Friday night at Arthur Ashe Stadium.
The match lasted more than three hours and turned into one of the most emotional moments of the tournament so far.
From 5-0 ahead to suddenly out
The most painful part for the Williams sisters came at the end.
After fighting back from a 4-1 deficit in the third set, Serena and Venus forced the deciding 10-point match tiebreak.
Then they exploded out of the gate.
The sisters raced to a 5-0 advantage, putting themselves within striking distance of victory.
But Chan and Joint refused to panic.
The Australian-Taiwanese pair won 10 of the next 12 points, turning the match completely around and closing it out 10-7.
One moment, the Williams sisters appeared destined for a spectacular comeback.
Minutes later, their US Open campaign was over.
A return four years in the making
The significance of the match went well beyond the scoreboard.
Serena and Venus had not played together at the US Open since 2022, when they also lost in the opening round.
Their latest appearance marked their return to Grand Slam doubles after a four-year absence and came at the same tournament where they won doubles titles together in 1999 and 2009.
The sisters have been one of the most successful doubles partnerships in tennis history.
Together, they have won 14 Grand Slam doubles titles and three Olympic gold medals, while sharing the world No. 1 doubles ranking for eight weeks.
Their last Grand Slam doubles title came at the 2016 Wimbledon Championships, while their most recent tournament victory together was at the 2016 Australian Open.
Their return to New York was therefore never going to feel like an ordinary first-round match.
Serena’s comeback continues
The match also represented another chapter in Serena Williams’ extraordinary return to professional tennis.
Serena, now 44, returned to competitive action this year after a lengthy absence.
Her comeback included a singles appearance at Wimbledon, where she lost to none other than Maya Joint in a three-set first-round match. Serena later suffered a knee injury during that contest and withdrew from the planned doubles tournament with Venus at Wimbledon.
That made the US Open reunion particularly meaningful.
But Joint once again ended Serena’s hopes—this time alongside Chan in doubles.
For Joint, the victory represented an extraordinary few months against one of tennis’ greatest players.
The 20-year-old Australian had already stunned Serena at Wimbledon and now helped eliminate both Williams sisters from the US Open doubles draw.
Serena and Venus still had their moments
The defeat was not a one-sided affair.
The Williams sisters dropped the opening set 6-3, but responded in the second.
They pushed the set into a tiebreak and eventually won 8-6, forcing the deciding set.
When they fell behind 4-1 in the third, they again refused to surrender.
The sisters fought back to level the set and eventually forced the match tiebreak, where their 5-0 advantage briefly made victory look almost inevitable.
But the younger legs and steadier finish of Joint and Chan ultimately prevailed.
Arthur Ashe turns into a celebration
Despite the loss, the night belonged to the Williams sisters in another way.
Arthur Ashe Stadium was packed with approximately 23,000 spectators, creating an atmosphere more commonly associated with a Grand Slam final than a first-round doubles match.
Among those watching was Carlos Alcaraz, the defending US Open men’s champion, who had made it clear he wanted to see the sisters play.
The crowd repeatedly erupted for the sisters, turning points, comebacks and even routine exchanges into celebrations.
It was a reminder of just how much Serena and Venus have meant to the tournament—and to tennis as a whole.
A partnership that changed tennis
Their doubles partnership has always been intertwined with their larger impact on the sport.
Serena won 23 Grand Slam singles titles, while Venus captured seven.
Together, they transformed women’s tennis while becoming one of the most recognizable sibling partnerships in sports history.
Their doubles success was equally extraordinary: 14 Grand Slam titles and three Olympic gold medals.
Their dominance also helped reshape perceptions of power, athleticism and competitiveness in women’s tennis.
That history was impossible to ignore Friday night.
Every time the sisters walked onto the court, the match felt like a celebration of everything they had already accomplished.
Is this really the end?
The defeat immediately raises the question that tennis fans have been asking since Serena returned:
Will Serena and Venus play together again?
Neither sister has announced that this was their final doubles appearance.
But their future as a team remains uncertain.
Serena had stepped away from tennis after the 2022 US Open before returning this year, while Venus has continued competing on tour. The sisters also lost a match tiebreak at the Cincinnati Open shortly before the US Open.
Venus also exited the US Open singles tournament in the first round.
So Friday’s doubles match may prove to be another chapter—or the closing scene of one of the greatest partnerships tennis has ever produced.
For now, however, the numbers tell only part of the story.
6-3, 6-7(6), 7-6(10-7).
A loss.
A 5-0 lead surrendered.
And yet, for one unforgettable night in New York, Serena and Venus Williams reminded the world that their presence on a tennis court still means something far bigger than the final score.
The question now isn’t whether the sisters can still create unforgettable moments.
It’s whether Friday night was their last one together at the US Open.
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