Serena and Venus Williams made their return to the women's doubles draw at the 2026 US Open after a four-year break, playing a highly competitive first-round match on September 4 at Arthur Ashe Stadium in New York [1, 2, 3, 4, 5, 6]. The match lasted just over three hours and drew an enthusiastic crowd of approximately 23,000 fans [1, 3, 7, 4, 5, 6].
The Williams sisters lost to the 14th seeded pair of Maya Joint from Australia and Chan Hao-ching from Taiwan, with a final score of 6-3, 6-7, 7-6 – including a 10-7 super tiebreak in the deciding set [1, 2, 3, 4, 5, 6]. Serena and Venus led 5-0 in the deciding 10-point tiebreak but were unable to close it out as Joint and Chan staged a comeback to win the match [2, 3, 4, 8, 5, 6].
Serena Williams, 44, made her singles and doubles comeback this year after suffering a knee injury at Wimbledon in July that forced her to withdraw from doubles and delayed the sisters' return as a team [1, 3, 4, 5, 6]. Venus Williams, 46, also competed this year but lost early in singles at the US Open as well [3, 4, 6]. The sisters had minimal recent doubles play together, experiencing an early loss in Cincinnati in August before the US Open [1, 3, 7, 4, 5].
The Williams sisters have a celebrated doubles history, capturing 14 Grand Slam doubles titles together, including two US Open titles in 1999 and 2009, plus three Olympic gold medals [1, 2, 4, 5, 6]. Serena marked the occasion by wearing a bomber jacket adorned with patches commemorating their US Open singles and doubles titles [1, 7, 6].
Maya Joint, 20, and Chan Hao-ching, 32, praised the experience playing tennis icons. Joint said, "Being able to play against such legends of the game is super special" and described the crowd atmosphere as "surreal" [1, 5]. She added, "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" [1].
Former player and commentator Chanda Rubin noted, "It was unbelievable how competitive that was. After the first set you wondered if Serena and Venus would be able to find their mojo - but, boy, they did" [2]. Meanwhile, Serena also teamed up with Carlos Alcaraz in mixed doubles at the tournament, reaching the quarter-finals together [1, 4]. Alcaraz said, "I think there is no better plan (than) to watch the doubles, the Williamses once again, while getting a treatment" [4].
