The Cinderella run of 45-year-old Venus Williams and 22-year-old Canadian Leylah Fernandez came to a screeching halt late Tuesday afternoon in the quarterfinals of the U.S. Open women’s doubles competition in New York.
Williams and Fernandez, who teamed up hours before the bracket was announced and captivated throngs of fans in New York, ran into the top-seeded duo of Czechia’s Katerina Siniakova and Taylor Townsend and fell 6-1, 6-2 in 56 minutes.
The unlikely partners won three matches, including twice over seeded teams, and packed the main stadium courts in the process.
But Siniakova and Townsend, who own a pair of Grand Slam titles (2024 Wimbledon, 2025 Australian Open) demonstrated their doubles acumen, producing 19 winners and committing only three unforced errors. They also won 28 of 34 service points, never facing a break in seven service games.
Williams served two of the three games the multi-generational duo captured.
“Growing up watching Venus and Serena had always been for me and my sister an inspiration,” Townsend said in the post-match on-court interview. “We wanted to be like them when we grew up and it’s an honor to be able to share the court with (Venus) today.”
Despite the loss, the crowd at Louis Armstrong Stadium roared its approval as Williams and Fernandez departed the court.
Townsend and Siniakova now will face the No. 4 seeds, Russia’s Veronika Kudermetova and Belgium’s Elise Mertens, who defeated a Russian duo of fifth-seeded Mirra Andreeva and Diana Shnaider 6-4, 6-2.
–Field Level Media
