Williams sisters given US Open doubles wildcardImage source, Getty ImagesImage caption, Venus (left) and Serena Williams won 14 Grand Slams and three Olympic gold medals togetherByHarry PooleBBC Sport journalistPublished22 minutes agoVenus and Serena Williams will play doubles together at the US Open in their first Grand Slam outing as a pairing for four years.The American greats, two-time winners of the women’s doubles title in New York, were handed a wildcard entry by the United States Tennis Association (USTA).The last time the Williams sisters teamed up at a slam was at the 2022 US Open in what was Serena’s final tournament before she “evolved away” from tennis.Serena made her return to the sport in doubles at Queen’s in June before being given the final Wimbledon women’s singles wildcard.
The 44-year-old lost 6-3 6-7 (6-8) 6-3 to Australia’s Maya Joint and sustained a knee injury that ruled her out of the women’s doubles, where she was due to play with Venus.
Venus, 46, has played singles and doubles sporadically on the WTA Tour in recent years.
The pair reunited at August’s Cincinnati Open, losing in three sets to Marta Kostyuk and Peyton Stearns.
Serena played in the US Open mixed doubles competition alongside Carlos Alcaraz in New York on Tuesday, winning their opening match but losing in the quarter-finals.
Venus has also been given a wildcard for the singles, which begins on Sunday, 30 August.
Serena and Venus have won 14 major doubles trophies together, with their last coming at Wimbledon in 2016.
This will be only their third appearance together at a Grand Slam since then, after they also teamed up at the French Open in 2018 and the US Open four years ago.
They won the second of their Grand Slam doubles titles together in New York in 1999, and repeated the feat 10 years later.
The pair, who have never lost a major doubles final together, will begin their tournament on either Thursday, 3 September or Friday, 4 September.
Venus and Canada’s Leylah Fernandez reached the quarter-finals of the women’s doubles at Flushing Meadows last year, losing to top seeds Katerina Siniakova and Taylor Townsend.
