NEW YORK (AP) – The welcome and support for Venus Williams in Arthur Ashe Stadium on Tuesday afternoon were not the same as they were for her sister, Serena, a night earlier. Nor was the result.
Venus, who turned 42 in June, has not made any pronouncements about her future in tennis, unlike her younger sibling, and while she has been successful and influential, too – a seven-time Grand Slam champion; a Black woman in a predominantly white sport – the fanfare and attention are not the same.
Playing in front of thousands of empty blue seats in an arena quite silent at the start, although growing louder later, Venus bowed out in the first round of the United States (US) Open for the second consecutive appearance, losing 6-1, 7-6 (5) to Alison Van Uytvanck.
“She means so much to female tennis. Tennis, in general,” Van Uytvanck said. “She’s a legend.”
This was the 23rd trip to Flushing Meadows for Venus, who made it to the final in 1997 as a teen then won the trophy in 2000 and 2001, and her record 91st time participating in a major tournament.
Venus had never lost in the opening round at the US Open until 2020, then was absent last year.
Asked what keeps her motivated these days, she answered, “Three letters: W-I-N. That’s it. Very simple.”
At night, Emma Raducanu became only the third defending US Open champion to lose in the first round, eliminated by Alizé Cornet 6-3, 6-3.
And yet another past champ bowed out in straight sets when Naomi Osaka, who won two of her four Grand Slam titles in New York, was eliminated by Australian Open runner-up Danielle Collins 7-6 (5), 6-3 in a match that ended after midnight.
Osaka, a former number one, also lost in the first round of the French Open this year and has slid to 44th in the rankings. She had been 3-0 head-to-head against Collins, but this fun-to-watch, hard-hitting matchup went the other way.
“When you lose to somebody three times,” said the 19th-seeded Collins, who has struggled with injuries this season, “you have nothing to lose, so I tried to go for it and hope for the best.”
Raducanu, who was 18 and ranked 150th when she won the title as a qualifier a year ago, was bothered by hand blisters – she took a medical timeout for treatment after the first set – and was outplayed by Cornet, a 32-year-old from France who also upset number one Iga Swiatek at Wimbledon.
“Obviously really disappointing. Really sad to leave here. It’s probably my favourite tournament. But also, I mean, in a way, (I’m) happy, because it’s a clean slate,” Raducanu said. “I’m going to drop down the rankings. (Will) climb my way back up.”
Also playing under the lights was 22-time major champion Rafael Nadal, who returned to the US Open for the first time since 2019 and beat 21-year-old Rinky Hijikata 4-6, 6-2, 6-3, 6-3. Nadal did not show any serious lingering issues with the torn abdominal muscle that forced him out of Wimbledon in July.
It was Serena who announced to the world on August 9 that she was getting ready to step away from her playing career, leaving unclear exactly when the end would be, although she hinted it could come at the US Open.
So her first-round match on Monday fell into the category of a must-see happening, drawing a record crowd of more than 29,000 to the tournament grounds, including more than 23,000 in Ashe – and the atmosphere was electric from start to finish of her 6-3, 6-3 victory over Danka Kovinic.
Now Serena, who won six of her 23 Grand Slam singles titles in New York, will move on to a matchup against number two seed Anett Kontaveit in Ashe.
And then she and Venus will join forces in doubles today, teaming up for the first time anywhere since 2018 this week.
When a reporter wanted to know whether retirement has been on Venus’ mind, she replied: “Right now, I’m just focussed on the doubles.”
So how did that reunion of a pairing that has earned 14 Grand Slam titles in that event come about?
“It was Serena’s idea. She’s the boss, so I do whatever she tells me to do,” Venus said. “We have had some great wins. It would be nice to add some more.”
Van Uytvanck now meets Clara Burel, who eliminated Wimbledon champion Elena Rybakina 6-4, 6-4.
In other action on Day 2 at the hard-court tournament, women’s winners included 2017 champion Sloane Stephens, number one Iga Swiatek, number six Aryna Sabalenka, number eight Jessica Pegula, number nine Garbiñe Muguruza, number 13 Belinda Bencic – whose opponent, Andrea Petkovic, said she is retiring from pro tennis – and number 22 Karolina Pliskova, the 2016 runner-up in New York.
Men who advanced included 2014 champion Marin Cilic, number three Carlos Alcaraz, number seven Cam Norrie, number eight Hubert Hurkacz, number nine Andrey Rublev, number 11 Jannik Sinner, number 15 Marin Cilic, number 17 Grigor Dimitrov and number 28 Holger Rune, who meets John Isner next.
Neither Williams attended the other’s first-round singles match; Venus said she watched Serena on TV because of her own early start the next day.
Their mother, Oracene, and sister, Isha, were in the guest box each time. On Tuesday, they saw Venus struggle from the outset, particularly with her used-to-be-feared serve and groundstrokes that were not calibrated correctly. So many into the net. So many landing long.
After some of her 25 unforced errors, Venus would wince or fiddle with her racket strings or tug on the brim of her visor.
Ten of those miscues came on backhands, far outnumbering her two winners on that side.
There were a half-dozen double-faults, just three aces. She faced 12 break points and dropped four of her 10 service games.
Just 20 minutes in, there was a 4-0 lead for Van Uytvanck, a 28-year-old from Belgium who is ranked 43rd and came into the day with a 1-8 career mark at the US Open.
Venus did make a bit of a stand, breaking to open the second set and holding for 2-0. But that would be her only break of the match and soon enough, Van Uytvanck was putting away a volley winner to close out the win.
A night earlier, Serena was feted during a post-match ceremony that included a video tribute from Oprah Winfrey and a lengthy on-court interview. After this match, Venus simply slung her red equipment bag over her left shoulder, carried her racket in her right hand, and quickly walked off toward the locker room.
