Venus Williams, who won 14 Grand Slam doubles titles with sister Serena, teamed with Leylah Fernandez to win her first doubles match at the US Open since 2014.
Venus Williams won a women’s doubles match at the US Open for the first time in more than a decade — and this time without her sister, Serena.
Williams, 45, teamed with Leylah Fernandez on Thursday to defeat the sixth-seeded pair of Lyudmyla Kichenok and Ellen Perez 7-6 (4), 6-3.
Williams did her signature twirl-and-wave when it was over and called Fernandez, who is 22, « the best partner I ever played with — outside of Serena. »
Williams and Fernandez, the 2021 singles runner-up at Flushing Meadows, were heavy fan favorites at a nearly full Louis Armstrong Stadium, and the chair umpire had to ask the crowd multiple times to keep quiet.
The spectators gave Williams and Fernandez a standing ovation after they claimed the opening tiebreaker despite trailing 5-2 in that set — and rose again to cheer after the match ended.
