Venus Williams, 46, Falls to Sofia Kenin in Record Late-Night US Open Thriller

Venus Williams’ bid for a fairy-tale first-round US Open win ended in the middle of the night, as the 46-year-old fell to fellow American Sofia Kenin 6-2, 7-6 (8-6) in a match that didn’t start until after midnight and finished past 2 a.m. on Arthur Ashe Stadium. It capped a wild-card run that had captivated tennis fans all week and extended Williams’ current singles losing streak to 14 matches dating back through the 2026 season.

Williams, a two-time US Open singles champion, was awarded a wild card into the 2026 main draw earlier this month alongside Sloane Stephens, marking her 26th career appearance at Flushing Meadows. The moment carried extra weight given her history at the tournament: Williams reached the US Open final as a 17-year-old in 1997 and won the title in both 2000 and 2001, two of her seven career Grand Slam singles championships. Twenty-nine years after that breakout run, she returned to Ashe Stadium as the oldest woman to compete in the US Open singles main draw since Renée Richards in 1981.

A Record-Setting, Draining Finish

The match against Kenin began at 12:13 a.m. local time, following a marathon five-set loss for Novak Djokovic earlier in the night session that pushed the schedule deep into the early morning hours. That start time set the record for the latest first-round match in US Open history, edging out a mark set just two years earlier. Williams dropped the opening set 6-2, then dug in and pushed Kenin, the 2020 Australian Open champion, into a tense second-set tiebreak before Kenin closed it out 8-6 to seal the straight-sets win.

Despite the result, Williams left the court to a standing ovation, waving to a crowd that had stuck around into the early morning hours just to watch her compete one more time on the sport’s biggest stage. It was her first Grand Slam singles match of the tournament season aside from an early exit at the Australian Open, and her last tour-level singles win of any kind came in Washington back in July 2025. Williams has not won a match at a major since reaching the second round of Wimbledon in 2021, a stretch that now spans six consecutive first-round Grand Slam exits.

Doubles With Serena Still Ahead

The loss doesn’t end Williams’ tournament. She and sister Serena Williams received a US Open women’s doubles wild card and are set to team up for the first time at a Grand Slam since 2022, with their opening match scheduled for later this week. The sisters, who have never lost a major doubles final together, previously won the US Open women’s doubles title in 1999 and 2009 and have combined for 14 Grand Slam doubles championships. They gave fans an early preview of the reunion at the Cincinnati Open earlier this month, where they lost a tight three-set doubles match to Marta Kostyuk and Peyton Stearns in what was their first match together in four years.

Venus Williams has given no public indication of when, or if, she plans to retire from competitive singles tennis. For now, all eyes shift to the doubles draw at Flushing Meadows, where the Williams sisters will try to add one more chapter to a partnership that has already produced three Olympic gold medals in doubles and remains one of the most decorated sibling acts in the history of the sport.

What It Means Heading Into the Rest of the Tournament

Williams’ exit removes one of the more sentimental storylines from the early rounds of the men’s and women’s singles draws, but it does little to dim the spotlight on the year’s final major. The US Open runs through September 13, with the women’s doubles bracket beginning play on September 3-4, giving the Williams sisters a few days to regroup before their own run begins. Sportsbooks and bettors following the tournament will now turn their attention fully to the deeper singles rounds, where seeded contenders like Aryna Sabalenka, Coco Gauff, and Iga Swiatek headline a loaded women’s field chasing the title Williams once claimed twice on that same court.

Fans looking to follow the rest of the tournament, including betting markets around the remaining singles rounds and the Williams sisters’ doubles debut, can check the latest DraftKings promo code and other offers as the US Open moves into its second week.