NEW YORK, Aug 26 (Reuters) – Serena and Venus Williams have received a women’s doubles wildcard entry at the U.S. Open, tournament organisers said on Wednesday.
The sisters have played together in the U.S. Open doubles nine times, most recently in 2022, when Serena made an emotional farewell to the sport. Serena exited the mixed doubles tournament with partner Carlos Alcaraz in the quarter-finals on Tuesday.
Serena, a 23-times Grand Slam champion, returned to the court for the first time in nearly four years at the Queen’s Club Championships in London in June.
The 44-year-old showed glimpses of her old form in her two mixed doubles matches on Tuesday, firing down a 120 mph (193.1 kph) ace to gasps from the crowd at Arthur Ashe Stadium.
The 46-year-old Venus reached the women’s doubles quarter-finals last year with Canadian partner Leylah Fernandez.
The Williams sisters played together this month in Cincinnati, where they lost in their opening match. They were once among the most formidable doubles pairs on the circuit, winning the U.S. Open title in 2009 and 2019.
The women’s doubles first round begins at Flushing Meadows on September 3.
(Reporting by Amy Tennery in New York; Editing by Sharon Singleton and Ed Osmond)
