Serena and Venus Williams are set to reunite on the court as a doubles team at the U.S. Open after receiving a wild card for this year’s tournament.
The sisters will return to the Grand Slam event where they have enjoyed considerable success, having won the women’s doubles title twice during their careers.
The wild card comes after Serena returned to competitive tennis this summer following a four-year absence from the sport. She and Venus had initially been scheduled to play doubles at Wimbledon but were unable to do so after Serena suffered a knee injury during her singles defeat.
The sisters later reunited at the Cincinnati Open, where they were eliminated in the first round. Despite that early exit, the Williams sisters will now have another opportunity to compete together at the U.S. Open, a tournament that holds a special place in their careers.
Serena and Venus have won the U.S. Open doubles championship in 1999 and 2009. Across their nine appearances at the tournament, they have recorded an impressive 27-7 win-loss record.
Their most recent appearance together came in 2022, when they lost in the first round in what was widely expected to be Serena’s final appearance at Flushing Meadows.
The sisters have enjoyed one of the most successful partnerships in women’s doubles history, winning 14 Grand Slam doubles titles and three Olympic gold medals in 2000, 2008 and 2012.
They also shared the world No. 1 ranking in women’s doubles for eight weeks during their dominant period as a team.
Also Read: Venus Williams returns to tennis after 16 months break
Serena, 44, has opted not to compete in the women’s singles event at this year’s U.S. Open. However, she accepted a wild card to compete in doubles after determining that she was fit enough to return to the tournament.
The 23-time Grand Slam singles champion also competed in mixed doubles with Carlos Alcaraz on Tuesday. The pair won their opening match before suffering a defeat in the quarterfinals.
Meanwhile, Venus, 46, is scheduled to compete in the women’s singles competition in addition to partnering Serena in doubles.
The Williams sisters first captured the U.S. Open doubles title in 1999, the same year Serena won her first singles championship at Flushing Meadows.
Their partnership reached another level about a decade later as they collected several major doubles titles in quick succession.
In 2009, they won both the Australian Open and Wimbledon doubles titles before adding another U.S. Open championship later that year.
They continued their success in 2010, winning the Australian Open before completing a career sweep of the four Grand Slam doubles titles by claiming the French Open.
Their return to the U.S. Open doubles draw adds another chapter to one of the most successful sibling partnerships in tennis history. The first round of the women’s doubles tournament is scheduled to begin on September 3.
CBC
