Venus Williams Exits US Open in Late-Night Match

In what might be her final appearance at a Grand Slam tournament, Venus Williams lost in the first round of the 2026 US Open. The match against American Sofia Kenin began after midnight and ended just after 2 AM at Arthur Ashe Stadium. Venus, 46, lost 6-2, 7-6 (6), extending her losing streak to 15 matches since her last victory in July 2025. She will now play with her sister Serena in the doubles competition.

The match was delayed due to a long men’s singles match involving Novak Djokovic and Mariano Navone, which lasted over four hours. This made Venus and Kenin’s match start at 12:13 AM, breaking the previous record for the latest US Open match start time. The match concluded at 2:01 AM, setting a new record for the latest finish of any first-round match in US Open history.

Kenin dominated the first set in just 32 minutes, but Venus fought back in the second set, forcing a tiebreak despite trailing 4-2. However, Kenin won several key points to secure victory. Venus, who last won the US Open in 2008, remains one of the greatest tennis players of all time with seven Grand Slam titles.

Elsewhere at the tournament, Russian Daniil Medvedev bounced back from a disappointing first-round loss last year to defeat French qualifier Hugo Gaston 6-4, 6-2, 6-4. World number three Jessica Pegula also won her opening match against Romania’s Elena-Gabriela Ruse 6-3, 6-2.

Barbora Krejcikova, a two-time Grand Slam champion, was the first seeded player to exit when she lost to Kamilla Rakhimova 7-6(4), 6-2. Other notable wins included Italian Jasmine Paolini’s three-set victory over Slovenia’s Veronika Erjavec and Czech Jiri Lehecka’s win over Spain’s Pablo Carreno Busta.

Ukraine’s Marta Kostyuk also advanced with a straight-sets win over Australian Storm Hunter, joining compatriot Elina Svitolina in the next round. Meanwhile, Marin Cilic and Casper Ruud withdrew from the tournament early due to injuries.