Photo Credit: AFP / Punch Newspapers
Williams Sisters Lose In Thrilling US Open Doubles Comeback
Serena and Venus Williams made a dramatic return to the US Open women’s doubles on Friday, lighting up Arthur Ashe Stadium but falling just short against the pair of Chan Hao-ching and Maya Joint.

The legendary sisters, who own 14 Grand Slam doubles titles including two US Opens, lost 6-3, 6-7 (6/8), 7-6 (10/7) in a match that went to a deciding 10-point tiebreaker.

Venus, 46, and Serena, 44, had not played Grand Slam doubles together since the 2022 US Open, with their last title together coming at Roland Garros in 2018. Despite the long break, they showed flashes of their best tennis, with Serena especially sharp at the net.

After dropping the first set, the sisters fought back in the second, hitting 20 winners and taking the tiebreaker when Joint hit an overhead long to the delight of the crowd.

They fell behind 4-2 in the final set, rallied to force the super tiebreaker, and even led 5-0 before Taiwan’s Chan and Australia’s Joint mounted a superb comeback to seal the win.

For Serena, the 23-time Grand Slam singles champion, it marked her first appearance at Flushing Meadows since announcing she was “evolving away” from tennis. She had recently returned to Grand Slam singles at Wimbledon as a wild card, where she also lost to Joint.

The sisters were given a thunderous ovation as they walked onto Ashe in matching white outfits, with every winner met with deafening cheers.

“The atmosphere was surreal,” Joint said after the match. “Being able to play against such legends of the game is super special.”

The sisters did not attend the post-match press conference.
Source: PunchNG.com