EmailPrintOpen Extended ReactionsNEW YORK -- After a four-year absence, Serena and Venus Williams will make their return as a doubles team at the US Open.The sisters, who have won 14 major doubles titles together (and a combined 30 singles titles), received a wild card for entry and will be playing in just their second tournament as a duo since Serena returned to the sport earlier this summer. Playing on the recent social media trend, Venus called their renewed partnership, "kinda chic" in an Instagram post on Thursday.Here's what we know and what we can expect from Serena, 44, and Venus, 46, at the 2026 US Open.Who are they playing in the first round, and when is it?The Williams sisters will take on the No. 14-seeded pair of Chan Hao-ching and Maya Joint in the first round, on either Thursday or Friday. The schedule will be released the day before.Chan and Joint have been playing together throughout the summer hard-court season, most notably reaching the Memphis Open final, as well as the quarterfinals in Cincinnati. Chan advanced to the semifinals at the US Open in 2024 with partner Veronika Kudermetova, and Joint is a very familiar opponent for Serena.The 20-year-old Australian handed Serena a three-set loss in the lone singles match of her comeback so far in the first round of Wimbledon in June.What would the rest of their draw look like if they were to win that match?They would next take on the winners of the match between Nicole Fossa Huergo/Tamara Korpatsch and Jesika Maleckova/Miriam Skoch.Both duos are unseeded, and none of those players have ever made it beyond the third round in doubles at a Slam.But it would get considerably harder from there. The No. 4-seeded pair of Jelena Ostapenko and Hsieh Su-wei, who have reached two major finals together, would likely await in the third round. Ostapenko won the 2024 US Open doubles title with Lyudmyla Kichenok, and Hsieh is a seven-time major doubles champion.Taylor Townsend and Katerina Siniakova, the tournament's top-seeded team, are also in their half of the draw. They have won three Slam titles together and reached the final at the 2025 US Open.How have they looked in recent matches?The duo was supposed to play together at Wimbledon in July before having to withdraw due to a knee injury Serena sustained in her first-round singles match against Joint. They then made their eagerly awaited return as a pair at the Cincinnati Open earlier this month.Playing Marta Kostyuk and Peyton Stearns in the first round on a packed-to-capacity Grandstand court, and with loud chants and cheers heard throughout, the two struggled at the start. After dropping the opening set, they came alive in the second set and seemed to rediscover their signature chemistry and brilliance. Forcing a match-deciding super tiebreak, the Williams sisters quickly found themselves in a 6-0 deficit.But they found some last-ditch magic -- yet again -- and came all the way back to 8-7, and then 9-8. Venus ultimately double-faulted to end the match, but it was a promising showing for the sisters after such a long break from playing together. And both were pleased overall with their performance."I thought it was fun, I thought it was special, I thought it was good," Serena told reporters. "We kicked off a little rust in the middle of the match. We were starting to feel it, and it was really fun. It was really cool to be able to do this again.""I think we've waited a long time to get back on the doubles court, even this year," Venus added. "Eventually, we find our way to each other."Venus has also played in the doubles draws in Washington and Toronto this summer. She won a match alongside Diana Shnaider at the Mubadala DC Open, but she fell in the opening round with Alexandra Eala at the Canadian Open. Venus reached the quarterfinals at the US Open with Leylah Fernandez last year. (Venus even called Fernandez "the best partner I ever played with -- outside of Serena" during their 2025 run and said Serena was giving them frequent tips and advice "from afar.")Serena played in the mixed doubles event at the US Open last week. Partnered with Carlos Alcaraz -- and with all of the fanfare of that pairing that one would imagine -- the two needed some time to find their footing, but ultimately won their first match and advanced to the quarterfinals. Serena had several moments showcasing her vintage form -- with some highlight-worthy returns and blistering serves -- and looked to be gaining more confidence with every point.Are either of them playing singles?With her knee still not quite at 100%, Serena opted to focus on doubles at the US Open this year. During the mixed doubles broadcast last week, ESPN's Patrick McEnroe said that Serena's agent Jill Smoller had told him she was "close" to being able to play singles again but not quite there yet.But Venus did accept a wild card to play singles. She took on fellow wild card Sofia Kenin, the 2020 Australian Open champion, in the first round. The match began after midnight Monday, the latest match start time in US Open history. After a slow start, she fought back after trailing 4-2 by winning the next three games. She held a 6-2 lead in the set tiebreak but unraveled and simply couldn't close it out. Kenin won, 6-2, 7-6 (7).A two-time singles champion at the tournament, Venus is now on a 14-match losing streak and hasn't won a singles match since July of last year, nor a match at the US Open since 2019.And even after her disappointing loss to Kenin, Venus couldn't help but express her enthusiasm about playing with Serena later in the week."Of course, I definitely will be focused on that and super excited about it," she told reporters.
