NEW YORK — Venus Williams bowed out of her 26th U.S. Open singles appearance, falling in straight sets to fellow American wild card Sofia Kenin after not getting on the court until midnight.
The 46-year-old lost 6-2, 7-6 (6) in what could be the final singles match at a Grand Slam, if not her illustrious career. It was Williams’ 15th consecutive singles defeat dating to her last victory in Washington in July 2025.
Williams now has lost six in a row at the U.S. Open since winning in the first round in 2019. With doubles coming up with sister Serena, Venus was not ready to contemplate her future in tennis.
“I don’t think I should have to,” Williams told a small group of reporters after the match. “My mind is fully focused on that: how I recover from this completely insane evening and get ready for the next one.”
Williams and her 27-year-old opponent waited extraordinarily long to take the court at Arthur Ashe Stadium, delayed by Novak Djokovic’s 4-hour, 36-minute defeat to Mariano Navone that threatened to move them next door to Louis Armstrong Stadium. The men’s action ended just in time to play on Ashe — but not before making some history.
At 12:13 a.m., it was the latest start to a match at the U.S. Open, six minutes later than the previous record of Aryna Sabalenka against Ekaterina Alexandrova in the round of 32 in 2024.
“It’s not ideal,” Williams said. “I would have preferred something else, definitely. It wasn’t great for either of us, so I think we both tried our best.”
Kenin needed just 32 minutes to win the first set, but Williams took advantage of mistakes and made some shots in the second that gave the late-staying crowd reason to cheer, rallying from down 4-2 to force a tiebreak before losing several set points and striking the ball into the net to end it.
“Venus obviously was playing some amazing tennis,” Kenin said. “I just tried to keep fighting. I didn’t feel 100% game-wise, some nerves, but I tried to do the best to stay strong in those moments.”
Concluding at 2:01 a.m., it became the latest finish for a first-round match in U.S. Open history. It is the third-latest for a women’s match at any stage of the tournament.
“I had a lot of great moments,” Williams said. “As the match progressed, I just kept pushing myself to try to find my best tennis and to find my rhythm. It’s not easy to do in the first round. It’s not easy to do at 1 or 2 a.m. in the morning to try to find your rhythm and play your best, but I tried my best.”
Williams is a quarter-century removed from her second of back-to-back championships in New York. She also won Wimbledon five times from 2000-08 to give her seven Grand Slam singles titles.
She attempted to enjoy the experience as much as possible, though she mostly was worried about her on-court play.
“I always try to appreciate it, but it is definitely all business and there’s no room for error,” Williams said. “Try to soak it in, and soaking it in is more fun when the ball’s going in.”
