Serena and Venus Williams electrified Arthur Ashe Stadium but fell to Chan Hao-ching and Maya Joint in three thrilling sets in their return to the US Open women’s doubles on Friday.
The superstar sisters, whose 14 Grand Slam doubles titles include two US Opens, rallied from a break down in the third set and led the deciding 10-point tiebreaker 5-0 but fell 6-3, 6-7 (6/8), 7-6 (10/7).
Venus, 46, and Serena, 44, hadn’t played Grand Slam doubles since the 2022 US Open and last won a title together at Roland Garros in 2018. They showed flashes of their brilliant best, Serena proving particularly dangerous patrolling the net but struggling with her serve. After recovering from losing the first set to level the match in the second-set tiebreaker.
They belted no fewer than 20 winners in the set, holding serve throughout, and leveled the match when Joint smacked an overhead long to roars from the crowd.
Chan and Joint regrouped to seize a 4-2 lead in the third. The sisters rallied, but get to the finish line as Taiwan’s Chan and Joint fought back superbly to clinch the victory.
