Hao-Ching Chan and Maya Joint Survive Williams Sisters Rally at US Open

Hao-Ching Chan and Maya Joint defeated Serena and Venus Williams in the first round of the US Open women's doubles tournament on Friday, winning 6-3, 6-7 (6), 7-6 (7) at Arthur Ashe Stadium. AS reported that the match lasted three hours and two minutes before the 14th-seeded pair ended the Williams sisters' return to the event.

Watch the highlights: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=tqLugem2a_k

The American sisters entered the draw with a wild card and were playing women's doubles together at the US Open for the first time since 2022. The tournament's official website had confirmed Chan, of Taiwan, and Joint, of Australia, as their opening opponents. The match placed one of tennis's most successful teams against a seeded partnership in a packed main stadium.

Chan and Joint took the opening set 6-3, but the Williams sisters responded in a second set that went to a tiebreak. Serena and Venus won that breaker 8-6 to extend the contest. Their attempt to turn the match around continued deep into the deciding set, which also required a tiebreak.

AS reported that the Williams sisters moved 5-0 ahead in the final tiebreak but could not protect that advantage. Chan and Joint recovered to take the decider and the match, ending a contest in which the Americans had pushed the seeded team to the closing points. The result sent Chan and Joint into the second round.

Joint had already faced Serena Williams in singles during the 2026 season, beating her at Wimbledon, according to AS. After the doubles match, the 20-year-old Australian described both sisters as idols and noted that she had grown up in Michigan. Chan was 32 at the time of the match, while Venus was 46 and Serena 44.

The Williams sisters have won 14 Grand Slam women's doubles titles together, including two at the US Open, as well as three Olympic doubles gold medals. Their previous joint appearance in the New York major ended with a first-round defeat in 2022. Four years later, their latest run also ended at the opening hurdle, although only after they recovered from a set down and came within the deciding tiebreak of advancing.