Venus Williams returned to winning ways at the US Open by winning a women’s doubles match for the first time in more than 10 years. This time, she was not with her sister Serena but teamed up with 22-year-old Leylah Fernandez. The pair defeated sixth seeds Lyudmyla Kichenok and Ellen Perez 7-6 (4), 6-3.
After the win, the 45-year-old Venus did her signature twirl and wave to the crowd. She called Fernandez “the best partner I ever played with – outside of Serena.”
Cuteness overload ❤️
Leylah Fernandez invited Venus Williams to do her signature twirl-wave after their doubles win today. pic.twitter.com/WDuiWYEuZT
— US Open Tennis (@usopen) August 28, 2025
Crowd shows big support
The match was played at a packed Louis Armstrong Stadium, where the fans cheered loudly for Venus and Fernandez.
The chair umpire had to repeatedly ask the crowd to stay quiet. Spectators stood and applauded when the duo came back from 2-5 down to win the first set tiebreaker. Chants of “Here we go, Venus, here we go!” filled the air, and a sign read, “Welcome to the Williams show.”
Venus grateful to fans
“Wow. Thank you, you guys. Thank you for showing up for us,” Venus said during her on-court interview, visibly moved by the reception.
This was Venus’s first women’s doubles win at the US Open since 2014, when she and Serena reached the quarterfinals. She had not won a Grand Slam doubles match since the 2018 French Open. The Williams sisters’ last doubles title came at Wimbledon in 2016.
Apart from doubles, Venus has won seven Grand Slam singles titles and two mixed doubles trophies. After being away from the tour for 16 months, she returned in July by playing singles and doubles in Washington.
Recent US Open journey
At this US Open, Venus had earlier lost in the first round of both mixed doubles and singles. In singles, she stretched 11th seed Karolina Muchova to three sets before exiting.
Thursday’s match was also her first women’s doubles appearance at a Grand Slam since the 2022 U.S. Open, which was Serena’s farewell tournament.