The 42-year-old did not say whether she would retire after a first-round exit at the US Open playing Arthur Ashe on Tuesday afternoon; Telling reporters that she is “focusing only on the couple.”
Williams, a back-to-back US Open champion who made it to the tournament via wild-card entry, defeated world 49er Alison Van Uytvanck of Belgium, 1-6, 6-7 (5-7). ) fell from the score.
It was his first Grand Slam singles event since Wimbledon in 2021 and his first at Flushing Meadows since 2020. She didn’t even play in the women’s singles event this season until the Citi Open in Washington, DC in late July.
Venus Williams hasn’t said whether it will be her last singles tournament since her loss on Tuesday.
Former US Open winner lost in straight sets to Alison van Uytwank at Flushing Meadows
Venus said after the loss, ‘This was definitely the longest time I’ve been away from tennis and I didn’t have a racquet in my hand.
‘So it was a completely new experience for me, trying to get used to as soon as possible to get ready for the US Open. Sure, a lot of great points played today but in the end, it’s just war.
‘There’s nothing you can do about it except, you know, not rusting at some point. … I definitely went from there and did my best under the conditions.’
This is his 23rd year playing at Flushing Meadows, but he hasn’t made the same impact as before. After making at least a semi-final spot in the tournament from 1997–2002, Venus has not made it to the finals since ’02 and last made it to the semi-finals in 2017.
The tennis icon was preparing for a doubles tournament with her sister, so Venus quickly left the court after the loss.
Venus – whose world ranking is ranked 1,504th – has not progressed past the first round at the US Open since 2019, when she won only one match.
She lost to 20th seed Karolina Muchova in the first round of the 2020 US Open and was absent from the 2021 tournament.
The Williams sisters will continue their doubles career in this tournament, playing together in a Grand Slam tournament for the first time since the 2018 French Open.
Venus told reporters that it was Serena’s idea to play doubles in Queens at this tournament, jokingly saying, “She’s the boss, so I do what she tells me to do.”
The pair have not played together at Flushing Meadows since 2014, when they reached the quarter-finals before falling to Russian pair and eventual winners Ekaterina Makarova and Elena Vesnina.
Venus and Serena are undefeated in the doubles finals of a Grand Slam tournament, with the most recent win on center court at Wimbledon in 2016.
The sisters will take on Linda Noskova and Lucie Hradecka of the Czech Republic on September 1.
The Williams sisters have won every doubles Grand Slam final played together.
