Venus Williams’ second major appearance of 2026 ended with a heartbreaking first-round loss.
Williams, for the second year straight, suffered a first-round exit at the US Open after Sofia Kenin outclassed her once again.
According to Associated Press, Kenin on Sunday, August 30, beat William 6-2, 7-6 (6), in what could be the final singles match of the Grand Slam career.
The latest defeat marks the 46-year-old’s 15th consecutive singles loss since her last victory in Washington last July.
Completely insane evening
The American tennis professional who has now lost in the six US Open tournaments in a row, dating to the first-round win in 2019, will next play doubles with sister Serena Williams.
Talking about the next game, Williams told reporters, “My mind is fully focused on that: how I recover from this completely insane evening and get ready for the next one.”
Williams and Kenin waited for the extraordinary long period to take court at the Arthur Ashe Stadium due to Novak Djokovic’s 4-hour, 36-minute defeat to Mariano Navone.
After the men’s action ended, the women began their face-off at 12:13 am, the latest start to a match at the US Open.
Raising her concerns about the delay after the match, Williams said, “It’s not ideal. I would have preferred something else, definitely. It wasn’t great for either of us, so I think we both tried our best.”
“I had a lot of great moments. 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,” she added.
and Venus Williams are scheduled to begin their 2026 US Open women's doubles campaign on either Thursday, September 3, or Friday, September 4.
