NEW YORK (AP) — Venus Williams won a women’s doubles match at the U.S. Open for the first time in more than a decade — and this time without her sister, Serena — teaming with Leylah Fernandez on Thursday to defeat the sixth-seeded pair of Lyudmyla Kichenok and Ellen Perez 7-6 (4), 6-3.
The 45-year-old did her signature twirl-and-wave when it was over and called Fernandez, who is 22, “the best partner I ever played with — outside of Serena.”
Williams and Fernandez, the 2021 singles runner-up at Flushing Meadows, were heavy fan favorites at a nearly-full Louis Armstrong Stadium, and the chair umpire had to ask the crowd multiple times to keep quiet.
The spectators gave Williams and Fernandez a standing ovation after they claimed the opening tiebreaker despite trailing 5-2 in that set — and rose again to cheer after the match ended.
There were chants of “Here we go, Venus, here we go!” and a sign in the stands read, “Welcome to the Williams show.”
"Wow," Williams said in her on-court interview. "Thank you, you guys. Thank you for showing up for us."
She hadn't won a women’s doubles match in New York since 2014, when she and Serena made it to the quarterfinals, or at any Grand Slam tournament since the 2018 French Open. The last of the sisters' 14 major championships in women’s doubles came at Wimbledon in 2016.
The older Williams also has won seven Grand Slam titles in singles, and another two in mixed doubles. She had been off the tour for 16 months until returning to action by playing singles and doubles at Washington in July.
At Flushing Meadows, Williams lost in the first round of mixed doubles and singles, then was awarded a wild card for women's doubles. In singles, Williams pushed 11th-seeded Karolina Muchova to three sets before bowing out Monday night.
Williams on Thursday was playing doubles at a major for the first time since the 2022 U.S. Open, Serena's final tournament.
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Stephen Whyno, The Associated Press
