Serena, Venus Williams lose 3rd-set tiebreak in US Open return - ESPN

NEW YORK — «Welcome to the Williams Show,» read one fan's sign in Arthur Ashe Stadium on Friday night, as Venus and Serena Williams took the court for their doubles match, a quarter-century after first facing each other in the 2001 US Open final.

A quarter-century of playing pro tennis at a top level — at any level — is not a very common thing. And even more incredibly, the Williams sisters, now ages 46 and 44, showed they can still come agonizingly close to beating a top team that is cumulatively around half their age.

In a three-set thriller that delighted a packed and vocal evening crowd, the sisters fell short at the end, blowing a 5-0 lead in the final 10-point tiebreak to lose to Hao-Ching Chan of Taiwan and Maya Joint of Australia, 6-3, 6-7 (6), 7-6 (10-7).

So it was indeed quite a thrilling show — even the sisters themselves, narrowly defeated, walked off with smiles on their faces, though they declined to speak to the media afterward.

• Serena/Venus Williams: First appearance in doubles together at a major since 2022 US Open | were supposed to play together in Serena's return at Wimbledon this year but Serena pulled out after suffering a knee injury in singles against Maya Joint
• Sisters led the third-set tiebreak 5-0 before dropping 10 of the next 12 points
• Their second major doubles match to go to a deciding-set tiebreak (2009 French Open Round 3, lost to Bethanie Mattek-Sands & Nadia Petrova)
• Fall to 31-3 in the first round of majors as doubles partners
• Match lasted 3 hours and 2 minutes
• Maya Joint & Hao-Ching Chan advance to face Nicole Fossa Huergo & Tamara Korpatsch in Round 2 on Sunday

— ESPN Research

«It was an amazing match,» Joint said. «They played really well, and I think just the