Venus Williams, 46, loses to Sofia Kenin in US Open 1st round - ESPN

NEW YORK — Venus Williams bowed out of her 26th US Open singles appearance early Monday morning, falling in straight sets to fellow American wild card Sofia Kenin after not getting on the court until after midnight local time.

The 46-year-old lost 6-2, 7-6 (6) in what could be her final singles match at a Grand Slam, if not her illustrious career. It was Williams' 14th consecutive singles defeat dating to her last victory in Washington in July 2025.

Williams has now lost six in a row at the US Open since winning in the first round in 2019. With doubles coming up later this week with sister Serena, Venus was not ready to contemplate her future in tennis.

«I don't think I should have to,» Williams told a small group of reporters after the match. «My mind is fully focused on that: how I recover from this completely insane evening and get ready for the next one.»

Williams and her 27-year-old opponent waited extraordinarily long to take the court at Arthur Ashe Stadium, delayed by Novak Djokovic's 4-hour, 36-minute defeat to Mariano Navone that threatened to move them next door to Louis Armstrong Stadium. The men's action ended just in time to play on Ashe — but not before making some history.

At 12:13 a.m., it was the latest start to a match at the US Open, six minutes later than the previous record start time of Aryna Sabalenka against Ekaterina Alexandrova in the round of 32 in 2024.

«It's not ideal,» Williams said. «I would have preferred something else, definitely. It wasn't great for either of us, so I think we both tried our best.»

Kenin, the 2020 Australian Open winner, needed just 32 minutes to win the first set, but Williams took advantage of mistakes and made some shots in the second that gave the late-staying