August 29, 2025
‘That felt amazing because I never really played with a partner — outside of Serena, obviously — who had that kind of mentality, so it was really fun.’
Venus Williams emerged victorious in her latest doubles match at the U.S. Open, winning for the first time in more than a decade, partnered with someone other than Serena Williams.
According to The Associated Press, Venus and Leylah Fernandez connected to beat the sixth-seeded pair of Lyudmyla Kichenok and Ellen Perez 7-6 (4), 6-3. Although she has won 14 major championships with her sibling, she insists that Fernandez is “the best partner I ever played with — outside of Serena.”
“Our energy really matched each other in terms of determination, in terms of not giving up, in terms of really still just focused and dialed in in every single thing,” Venus said after the match. “That felt amazing because I never really played with a partner — outside of Serena, obviously — who had that kind of mentality, so it was really fun.”
Surprisingly, Venus claimed she is not comfortable playing doubles despite playing all those years with Serena.
“It’s an area that I’m not that comfortable in, being on a doubles court, but I think you get to some point in the match where you stop thinking about it,” Venus admitted. “When push comes to shove, I’ll do what I have to, but I’m a singles player, so of course, when I walk out there, I actually tell myself just to play singles and try that method. I try not to be something that I’m not.”
This was Venus’ first doubles victory in New York City in over 10 years since winning a match in 2014, when she and her sister made it to the quarterfinals.
Venus is coming off not playing on the tour for over a year when she returned to the court in July. During the DC Open, she became the oldest player to win a singles match on the Women’s Tennis Association (WTA )Tour since Martina Navratilova won a Wimbledon match in 2004. Before stepping back on the tennis court earlier this year, the last time Williams played on a tennis court was in March 2024, when she lost an opening-round match against Diana Shnaider at the Miami Open. Her last victory before the match in July, as a singles player, was a victory in 2023 against Veronika Kudermetova in the opening round of the Cincinnati Open.
The 45-year-old tennis player and the 22-year-old Fernandez will play against Ulrikke Eikeri and Eri Hozumi in the second.
“I actually feel great,” Williams said. “With some luck, we’ll stay, maybe win another round and just keep getting better.”
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