Venus Williams Falls to Kenin in Latest-Finishing US Open Match Ever
Venus Williams lost to Sofia Kenin 6-2, 7-6(6) in the first round of the 2026 US Open, a match that began at 12.13am and finished at 2.01am beneath the closed roof of Arthur Ashe Stadium — the latest start and latest finish in the tournament's history The Guardian.
The timing was no accident of scheduling. The night session on Arthur Ashe, the tournament's show court, routinely pushes matches deep into the early hours. But this one set a new benchmark: no US Open match had ever started later or ended later US News.
For Williams, it was a record-extending 26th US Open singles appearance. The seven-time Grand Slam champion, who won back-to-back US Open titles in 2000 and 2001, is now 46 and ranked 611th in the world. She has not won a match at a major tournament since Wimbledon in 2021, and this defeat stretched her losing streak at tour level to 15 matches The Guardian.
Kenin, 27, came in with modest form — just five wins from 21 tour-level matches in 2026. But the 2020 Australian Open champion, who also reached the French Open final that same year, was sharper when it mattered. She hit 28 winners to Williams' 13 and won 61% of the points played behind Williams' second serve — the serve that, when the first one misses, gives the returner a strong chance to attack The Guardian.
The second set told the story of the fight. Williams, down a set and facing defeat, mounted a spirited late comeback that pushed Kenin to a tiebreak — the 7-6 scoreline, decided by a mini-match to seven points rather than a two-game margin. Kenin took it 8-6, denying Williams the chance to force a deciding third set WTA.
The whole thing lasted one hour and 48 minutes. Not long by tennis standards, but played entirely after midnight on a Sunday that had already become Monday The Guardian.
Kenin advances to face No. 3 seed Jessica Pegula — the ranking that protects top players from meeting early — in an all-American second-round clash. Pegula won her opening match and was waiting for this result US Open.
Williams, though, is not done with this tournament. She is scheduled to play women's doubles alongside her sister Serena starting Thursday, the first time the two have paired up at a major WTA.
That pairing is the sort of thing that stops a tennis fan in their tracks. Two sisters, 31 Grand Slam singles titles between them, back on a doubles court together at Flushing Meadows. Whether it is a farewell or a new chapter, the tournament may not have seen the last of Venus Williams just yet.
