Venus Williams has returned to the US Open at the age of 45, as she took the court for the tournament’s new-look mixed doubles competition.
The tennis icon returned to the sport earlier this year at DC’s Citi Open after more than a year away, and hadn’t been back in Flushing since 2023.
But the early afternoon crowd at Louis Armstrong Stadium showered her with cheers on Tuesday as she walked out alongside doubles partner Reilly Opelka.
The pair are facing Andrey Rublev and Karolina Muchova in the mixed doubles round of 16, with the winner set to face Sara Errani and Andrea Vavassori in the quarterfinals immediately after. The Americans dropped the first set 4-2.
Williams, who received a wild card for the singles competition, is set to become the oldest singles entrant at the tournament since 1981 when the main draw begins this weekend.
The seven-time singles Grand Slam champ lost in the first round of the Cincinnati Open earlier this month but beat fellow American Peyton Stearns at the Citi Open in July to move into the second round in DC.
Venus Williams returned to the US Open as she teamed up with Reilly Opelka for mixed doubles
Williams is back at the US Open at the age of 45, and for the first time since 2023
The revamped mixed doubles competition features 16 teams competing over the course of Tuesday and Wednesday, with the semifinals and finals occurring on Wednesday night.
Matches are first to two sets of four games, with no-ad scoring in deuces and a seven-point tiebreak taking the place of a third set when necessary.
The decision to schedule the mixed doubles competition earlier (it typically runs simultaneously with the main draw) has attracted some of the biggest names in the sport, such as Carlos Alcaraz, Taylor Fritz and Emma Raducanu.
However, the competition has also been plagued by several pull-outs, including Jannik Sinner just hours before he was meant to compete on Tuesday.
More to follow
