Serena and Venus Williams lost 3-6, 7-6(6), 6-7(10-7) to 14th seeds Maya Joint and Hao-Ching Chan in the first round of women’s doubles at the 2026 US Open on Friday night at Arthur Ashe Stadium.
The match lasted 3 hours and 2 minutes. The sisters led 5-0 in the decisive 10-point match tiebreak before collapsing.
It was their first Grand Slam doubles appearance together since the 2022 US Open.
The Williams sisters led 5-0 in the match tiebreak and still lost.
Early Control, Then Resistance
Joint and Chan took the opening set 6-3. The Australians and Taiwanese pair dictated from the baseline and limited the sisters’ net approaches.
The Williams sisters found their rhythm in the second set. They forced a tiebreak and converted it 8-6, with Serena producing sharp volleys at the net and Venus stretching for reflex replies. The Arthur Ashe crowd responded as the match leveled.
Third-Set Fightback
Joint and Chan moved ahead 4-1 in the deciding set. The 14th seeds looked ready to close out the match.
The sisters broke back and held, leveling at 4-4. Serena’s presence at the net continued to disrupt the opponents’ rhythm. Joint and Chan held for 5-4. The Williams sisters saved the match on their serve and forced the 10-point match tiebreak.
The Collapse from 5-0
Serena and Venus raced to a 5-0 lead in the match tiebreak. Serena’s interceptions at the net and clean returns put them firmly in control.
Then the errors arrived. Double faults from both sisters allowed Joint and Chan back into the breaker. The 14th seeds won 10 of the next 12 points and closed out the match 10-7.
The final score stood 3-6, 7-6(6), 6-7(10-7).
A 5-0 lead in a match tiebreak disappeared in under 10 minutes.
Context of the Return
The USTA awarded the sisters a wild card for the women’s doubles draw. It marked their first major appearance as a pair since 2022, when Serena stepped away from the sport after that year’s US Open.
They have won 14 Grand Slam women’s doubles titles together, including the US Open in 1999 and 2009. Their combined Olympic gold-medal haul stands at four.
Earlier this summer they reunited at the Cincinnati Open and lost in the first round. Serena also lost to Joint in singles at Wimbledon during her 2026 return.
Venus, 46, and Serena, 44, leave New York without a win as a team at this year’s championships. The night itself delivered the kind of drama Ashe Stadium has come to expect when the sisters walk on court together.
