NEW YORK – Venus Williams won a women’s doubles match at the US Open for the first time in over a decade. This time without my younger sister Serena.
Williams, 45, worked with Leila Fernandez on Thursday to defeat the sixth seed pair, Ludmira Kichenok and Ellen Perez 7-6 (4), 6-3.
Williams made the yoke and waves of her signature when it was finished, and was called 22-year-old Fernandez.
Williams and Fernandez, the 2021 singles runner-up at Flushing Meadows, are huge fan favorites at almost complete Louis Armstrong Stadium, and the stool umpire had to ask the crowd many times to keep it quiet.
The audience gave Williams and Fernandez a standing ovation after insisting on an opening tiebreaker despite chasing 5-2 on that set.
There was a chant “Go here, Venus, I’m here!” And the sign on the stand says “Welcome to the Williams Show.”
“Amazing,” Williams said in an on-court interview. “Thank you guys, thank you for showing up for us.”
She has not won a women’s doubles match in New York since 2014.
The final 14 major women’s doubles championships appeared at Wimbledon in 2016.
The older Williams also won seven grand slam titles in singles, and two more in mixed doubles.
She had finished the tour for 16 months before returning to action by playing singles and doubles in Washington in July.
At Flushing Meadows, Williams was defeated in the first round of mixed doubles and singles before being awarded a female double wildcard.
On the single, Williams pushed 11th seeded Karolina Mciba to three sets before bowing Monday night.
Thursday’s contest was Williams’ first major doubles contest since Serena’s final tournament, the 2022 US Open.
