By Erik Gudris | Monday, September 1, 2025
Photograph credit score: Sarah Stier/Getty Photographs
Maybe probably the most surprising but inspiring story to date at this yr’s US Open is the dynamic wildcard pairing of 45-year-old Venus Williams and 22-year-old Leylah Fernandez in ladies’s doubles.
Williams and Fernandez proceed to shine on court docket and now discover themselves within the US Open quarterfinals after they defeated the No. 12 seeds Ekaterina Alexandrova and Zhang Shuai 6-3, 6-4.
Williams, who returned to tennis this summer season after a 16-month layoff, now finds herself again into a serious doubles quarterfinal for the primary time since Wimbledon in 2016 when she received the title together with her sister Serena Williams.
Now the query is, will Serena herself present as much as cheer her older sister on in her subsequent match?
Venus Williams was requested a few humorous on-line video Serena posted a day in the past about her sister’s success in New York this previous week.
“She’s so joyful for Leylah and I, and he or she’s given us recommendation,” Williams mentioned. “We simply want her within the field. So, my message is, ‘Serena, it’s worthwhile to present up.’”
Venus and Serena Williams mixed for a complete 14 main doubles titles.
Even when Serena, who retired from the game two years in the past doesn’t attend, she’s positively maintaining with Venus’s success.
“She gave me a pep discuss and made positive to name me as we speak. I used to be, like, ‘You’re proper. I bought it. I bought it,’” Venus mentioned. “She’s positively teaching from afar. She’s so excited. She will get so nervous watching, and he or she’s bought the youngsters watching. They’re all at residence, simply actually on our aspect.”
Venus additionally added her sister despatched a video of her two nieces watching the match and cheering her on.
For Fernandez, the chance to crew with, and study from Venus may be very evident. That’s together with from her circle of relatives.
“Properly, I’m rising loads, truly. I really feel like my crew members and even my household says, ‘Wow, you might be rising simply by taking part in with Venus, studying from her.’ I imply, you (Venus) might not say a lot on the bench, however no matter you say, I’m like sort of a sponge and sort of soaking all the things in. It’s an enormous alternative for me to only study from such a terrific champion, a legend such as you.”
To go additional within the draw, Williams and Fernandez may have a stern check forward of them. They subsequent face the No. 1 seeds Taylor Townsend and Katerina Siniakova.
