Sunday had become Monday by the time Venus Williams finally emerged beneath the closed roof of Arthur Ashe Stadium, her entrance pushed deep into the night after Novak Djokovic’s bruising defeat by Argentina’s Mariano Navone went the five-set distance. The first ball was struck at 12.13am, the latest start to a match in US Open history, yet several thousand spectators remained to watch a player who has been part of this tournament for as long as the building itself. At 46 years old, ranked 611th in the world and making her record-extending 26th US Open singles appearance, Williams has grown accustomed to making history simply by showing up.
Even by those standards this latest installment was, as she would later describe it, “completely insane”. The match itself proved somewhat more straightforward. Williams was beaten 6-2, 7-6 (6) by fellow American wildcard Sofia Kenin in their first-round encounter after 1hr 48min, extending her losing streak at tour level to 15 matches and leaving her without a win at a major tournament since Wimbledon in 2021.
I didn’t feel 100% game-wise, some nerves, but I tried to do the best to stay strong in those moments.” Williams, a seven-time grand slam champion in singles but a silhouette of the player who lifted back-to-back US Open titles in 2000 and 2001, was broken in her opening service game after three minutes and again the next time she stepped to the line, quickly falling 0-3 behind. She briefly steadied herself, breaking Kenin then holding for 2-3, but the resistance proved fleeting as her opponent reeled off the next three games to take the opening set in 32 minutes. Kenin, who had won just five of 21 tour-level matches this year, was made to negotiate a far trickier second set.
Just when the 27-year-old appeared ready to stroll into the next round after seizing an early break, she came undone in a blur of unforced errors that left the door open for Williams, the clear crowd favorite. The match appeared to turn for good with Kenin serving at 4-5, love-40, only for her to erase three set points to wriggle free. Williams then fought off four break points in the next game to force a tie-break, where she surged to a 6-2 lead and staked four more chances to force a decider.
But the finish line proved elusive as Kenin reeled off six straight points to snatch the set and the match at one minute past 2am, sending her through to another all-American clash in the second round with the No 3 seed Jessica Pegula. Williams’ second serve was particularly vulnerable on the night, with Kenin winning 61% of the points played behind it, while the younger American dictated the longer exchanges from the baseline. Kenin finished with more than twice as many winners (28) as Williams (13) and repeatedly proved steadier on the match’s biggest points.
If the result prompted a fresh round of questions about Williams’ future, she was in no mood to field them. A first-round loser at this year’s US Open earns $140,000 – potentially a life-changing sum for a player grinding away on the lower reaches of the tour, where travel, coaching and training expenses can easily outstrip prize money. For some, a main-draw wildcard and the payday attached to it can mean the difference between financing another year as a professional and walking away from the sport altogether.
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