Venus Williams triumphs in US Open Doubles, marking first win in a decade

New York: Venus Williams insists she is not much of a doubles player, but the 14 major titles she won alongside her sister Serena suggest otherwise.

On Thursday, Williams proved she’s still got what it takes. Without her younger sister by her side, she secured her first women’s doubles victory at the US Open in over a decade, teaming up with Leylah Fernandez to defeat the sixth-seeded duo of Lyudmyla Kichenok and Ellen Perez, 7-6 (4), 6-3.

After the match, the 45-year-old did her signature twirl and wave, and called Fernandez “the best partner I’ve ever played with, outside of Serena.” The 22-year-old Canadian even reminded Venus of her legendary sister.

“Our energy really matched, in terms of determination, in terms of never giving up, in terms of being completely focused and dialled in,” Williams said. “That felt amazing because I’ve never really played with a partner, apart from Serena, of course, who had that kind of mentality. So it was really fun.”

Williams and Fernandez, the 2021 singles runner-up at Flushing Meadows, were clear crowd favourites in a nearly full Louis Armstrong Stadium. The chair umpire had to repeatedly ask spectators to quieten down.

The crowd erupted with a standing ovation when Williams and Fernandez claimed the opening tiebreak after trailing 5-2 in the first set and again when they sealed the match after 90 minutes.

“Leylah is a good player, and Venus is also a good doubles player,” Kichenok said. “They’ve played doubles many times before. They understand it. Maybe it took them a while to find their rhythm, but they got there.”

Throughout the match, fans chanted “Here we go, Venus, here we go!” and one sign in the stands read, “Welcome to the Williams show.”

“Wow,” Williams said in her post-match interview. “Thank you, you guys. Thank you for showing up for us.”

Williams had not won a women’s doubles match in New York since 2014, when she and Serena reached the quarter-finals, or at any Grand Slam since the 2018 French Open.

“I’m not really that comfortable in doubles,” she admitted. “But there comes a point in the match where you stop thinking about that. When it comes down to it, I’ll do what I need to do. But I’m a singles player, so when I walk out there, I tell myself to play it like singles. I try not to be something I’m not.”

Williams has won seven Grand Slam singles titles and two in mixed doubles. She had been away from the tour for 16 months before making her return in July, competing in both singles and doubles in Washington.

“With the number of matches I’ve played, I’m progressing very quickly,” she said. “I didn’t have to come back to tennis, but somehow, I found my way back.”

At this year’s US Open, Williams lost in the first round of both mixed doubles and singles, before receiving a wild card for women’s doubles. Fernandez described herself as feeling “like a kid on Christmas Day” and jumping around with excitement after being invited to partner with Venus.

She was stunned by the Serena comparison.

“It’s probably the biggest compliment I’ve ever received,” Fernandez said. “Those are big shoes to fill.”

Back in women’s doubles at the US Open for the first time since 2022, Williams now continues her run in New York after having pushed 11th seed Karolina Muchova to three sets earlier in the week. She and Fernandez will face Ulrikke Eikeri and Eri Hozumi in the second round.

“I actually feel great,” Williams said. “With a bit of luck, we’ll stay in, maybe win another round and just keep getting better.”

AP