NEW YORK — Venus Williams’ first Grand Slam match in two years ended Tuesday when she and Leylah Fernandez misplaced within the US Open girls’s doubles quarterfinals to the top-seeded duo of Taylor Townsend and Katerina Siniakova 6-1, 6-2.
When the match completed after 56 minutes in Louis Armstrong Stadium, Williams smiled as she walked to the online to shake arms with Siniakova, then hug Townsend. 1000’s of spectators rose to present Williams a standing ovation; Townsend and Siniakova then joined in, applauding for Williams.
“Rising up watching Venus and (her sister) Serena, for me and my sister, it was an inspiration,” Townsend instructed the group. “It was an honor to share the court docket at this time.”
Siniakova known as Williams “a legend” and mentioned it was “a privilege” to play towards her.
The 45-year-old Williams earlier exited within the first spherical of each singles — bowing out towards Karolina Muchova in three units — and blended doubles. She was out of competitors for 16 months till returning to play at a match in Washington in July. Her most up-to-date main match had been the 2023 US Open.
Williams and Fernandez, a 22-year-old from Canada who was the 2021 singles runner-up in New York, obtained a wild-card entry from the U.S. Tennis Affiliation and had not misplaced a set of their first three matches of their debut as a crew.
Townsend, who presently is ranked No. 1 in doubles, and Siniakova are an skilled duo who gained Wimbledon in 2024 and the Australian Open this yr collectively. Siniakova has gained a complete of 10 Grand Slam titles in girls’s doubles.
Williams, in fact, is the proprietor of 14 Grand Slam titles in girls’s doubles alongside Serena, who left the skilled tour in 2022.
The older Williams sibling additionally has gained seven main singles championships and one other two in blended doubles.
She was the oldest participant within the singles draw on the U.S. Open since 1981.
Townsend’s time in Flushing Meadows continues in girls’s doubles after she did not convert eight match factors and bought knocked out of singles within the fourth spherical by Barbora Krejcikova.
“It was a tricky match, however finally, I left every part out on the court docket. That was the one factor that me and the crew may ask for,” Townsend mentioned. “I actually really feel like matches like which might be defining moments and alternatives. You’ll be able to both go up or go down.”
Townsend additionally was within the highlight for a tense postmatch change of phrases with Jelena Ostapenko after a singles match.
Within the doubles semifinals, Townsend and Siniakova will meet the No. 4 seeds, Veronika Kudermetova and Elise Mertens. The opposite semifinal matchup is No. 2 Sara Errani and Jasmine Paolini towards No. 3 Gabriela Dabrowski and Erin Routliffe.
Kudermetova and Mertens gained Wimbledon final month. Errani and Paolini gained the French Open in June.