Venus Williams Advances in US Open Doubles with Leylah Fernandez

NEW YORK, USA — Venus Williams celebrated a memorable return to tennis on Saturday as she and partner Leylah Fernandez reached the last 16 of the women’s doubles tournament at the US Open. The duo, playing together for the first time, defeated Ulrikke Eikeri and Eri Hozumi in straight sets, 7-6(1), 6-1.

The 45-year-old Williams, a seven-time Grand Slam singles champion, last reached this stage of a Grand Slam in 2018 at the French Open. She and Fernandez had earlier upset the sixth-seeded pair of Lyudmyla Kichenok and Ellen Perez in the first round. Their victory on Saturday was particularly special as Williams showcased her iconic on-court celebration, raising her hand to the crowd and twirling in delight.

“She’s such an inspiration,” Fernandez, 22, said in an on-court interview. “You have motivated me to keep going on this journey through the good and the bad. Seeing you play out here, having fun and playing because you love the sport is inspiring.”

Williams and Fernandez overcame an early setback, falling behind 3-1 in the first set. However, Williams rallied, executing impressive volley winners that helped fend off break points. “I actually have never done that,” Williams said about gesturing to the crowd for support. “But we were down, so we wanted the energy that you guys bring. We needed that.”

After taking the opening set via a tiebreaker, Fernandez and Williams dominated the second set, allowing only one game to their opponents. They now await the winners of the match between No. 12 seeds Ekaterina Alexandrova and Shuai Zhang or British pair Katie Boulter and Sonay Kartal.

Earlier in the tournament, Williams made headlines by becoming the oldest singles player at the US Open since 1981. She played her first singles match since returning from a 16-month hiatus earlier this year, ultimately losing to No. 11 seed Karolína Muchová.

“It’s incredible to still see Venus on the court,” said two-time US Open champion Naomi Osaka. “We should appreciate that she’s still playing and inspiring so many people.”