Ageless fight, bittersweet ending: Inside the Williams sisters' wild first-round exit at Flushing Meadows

The tireless passion of the New York crowd marked the return of sisters Serena and Venus Williams to the doubles draw at the US Open, where the local legends, aged 44 and 46, turned center court into a veritable cauldron as they faced the 14th seeds in a pronounced generational clash: Taiwan’s Hao-Ching Chan, 32, and Australia’s Maya Joint, 20, against whom they lost 6-3, 6-7(6), and 7-6(7).

'Just minutes before the match began, Arthur Ashe Stadium looked more like a boxing ring than a tennis court, as the venue filled with smoke and a light show. The moment the Williams sisters made their triumphant entrance, half the crowd pulled out their phones to record them and the other half began to applaud.'

The spectacle continued when the person in charge of tossing the coin before the match to determine which players would serve first was YouTuber MrBeast, whose real name is Jimmy Donaldson and he has 515 million followers on the platform.

The roar of Arthur Ashe

Despite losing the first set (6-3), the New York crowd gave the sisters a standing ovation as true legends. During the second set (6-7(6)), which was decided by a long and closely contested tiebreak, Arthur Ashe roared every time the American pair moved one step closer to victory.

Serena and Venus Williams, champions of the 1999 and 2009 US Open doubles, were also applauded every time they shone on a serve. From the stands, shouts were heard such as: "Come on, Williams sisters!", to such an extent that silence was requested over the loudspeakers of the packed stadium during the match.

In the final set, which took place in the third hour of the match, many "oh!" rang out around the venue as Chan and Joint began to pull ahead. And it was not until the score was leveled at 5-5 that the stadium shook again with the fans' cheers, something that continued until the scoreboard showed 6-6.

During the third-set super tiebreak (7-6(7)), you could feel the tension in the air and, although it ended with the Williamses' defeat, the entire stadium rose from their seats as a sign of respect when they left the court.

For their part, the sisters, who were matching in white sneakers, skirt, and top, celebrated their victories with a fist bump and complicit laughter. The match represented an opportunity for personal revenge for Serena. After four years away from the courts, the younger of the Williams sisters fell this summer in her return to the Wimbledon singles draw precisely against Joint.

The 14-time Grand Slam doubles champions finally competed together again last August at the Cincinnati tournament, where they were defeated in their debut by Marta Kostyuk and Peyton Stearns.

Both players had already seen action in this year's edition of the US Open. Venus was eliminated last Sunday in the singles category by her compatriot Sofia Kenin. For her part, Serena has attracted the spotlight at the New York Grand Slam both on and off the court. Off it, she has promoted commercial initiatives with brands such as Heineken 0.0 and has spoken openly about the use of weight-loss medications in order to combat social stigma.

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