NEW YORK (AP) — Venus Williams bowed out of her 26th U.S. Open singles appearance early Monday morning, 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’ 14th consecutive singles defeat dating to her last victory in Washington in July 2025.
Williams has now lost six in a row at the U.S. Open since winning in the first round in 2019.
She 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.
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.
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.
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.
Williams and sister Serena won 14 in doubles, including the U.S. Open in 1999 and 2009. They are expected to compete in doubles again this year after receiving a wild-card entry.