Serena and Venus Williams were once again the main attraction at the U.S. Open, and Carlos Alcaraz had no intention of missing the show.
"I think there is no better plan than watching the doubles, the Williamses once again, while getting a treatment,” the defending men’s champion said after winning his match. "I’m going to be ready for that.”
The match lived up to the hype.
The Williams sisters rallied to force a 10-point match tiebreaker Friday night, only to squander a 5-0 lead and fall to Hao-Ching Chan and Maya Joint 6-3, 6-7 (6), 7-6 (10-7).
It was the sisters’ first U.S. Open match since 2022 at the Grand Slam tournament they have won twice. They fought back from 4-1 down in the third set to level the match, but could not finish the comeback as a packed crowd desperately rallied behind them.
"I think the crowd was pretty much what we expected. We expected a full stadium, everyone cheering for them, which pretty much was that,” Joint said. "But the atmosphere is something that, yeah, it’s super special. You’re not really going to get that again with many other players.”
Serena, 44, returned to competitive tennis this year, while 46-year-old Venus has continued to compete on tour, adding another chapter to the sisters’ remarkable careers.
Perhaps it was their age, Serena’s long layoff or simply nerves. Whatever the reason, both sisters double-faulted during the tiebreaker after playing brilliantly late in the third set and through the opening points of the match tiebreaker.
The U.S. Tennis Association said the sisters would not be available for comment.
Serena lost to Joint for the second time this summer. She fell to the Australian in three sets at Wimbledon in her return to singles play, and she and Venus then had to pull out of their doubles match after Serena injured her knee.
That delayed their return to the Grand Slam stage until New York, where they won in 1999 and 2009 and are now 27-8 in their 10 appearances.
The match earned a spot in the night session at Arthur Ashe Stadium, practically unheard of for first-round doubles.
The sisters were once dominant in women’s doubles, teaming to win 14 Grand Slam titles along with Olympic gold medals in 2000, 2008 and 2012. They shared the No. 1 ranking in women’s doubles for eight weeks.
It appeared their first-round loss in 2022 would be their last time together, with Serena stepping away from tennis that year after winning 23 Grand Slam singles titles. She returned this summer and now has two heartbreaking defeats alongside her older sister. They also lost in a match tiebreaker at the Cincinnati Open.
Venus Williams also lost in the first round of singles.
Alcaraz won easily, but two-time defending champion Aryna Sabalenka was finally challenged, both by her opponent and by the smell of marijuana, in her victory.
Sabalenka beat Kamilla Rakhimova 6-3, 6-4. The No. 1 seed was pushed in a second set that lasted 54 minutes, a minute longer than her entire previous match.
Trying to become the first player to win three straight U.S. Open titles since Serena Williams from 2012-14, Sabalenka will face Taylor Townsend in the round of 16.
Alcaraz returned to the round of 16 by beating Wu Yibing 6-3, 6-4, 6-1. Back at the tournament after missing four months because of a right wrist injury, the two-time champion will face No. 20 seed Tommy Paul, who edged No. 15 Alexander Bublik in five sets.
"To be honest, I’m better than I thought,” Alcaraz said.
Sabalenka was serving in the third game of her match at Louis Armstrong Stadium when she tossed the ball but then let it fall to the court. She did the same thing on the next point, with something clearly bothering her.
She then approached the chair umpire to ask for help because she smelled marijuana.
"I was like, guys, you can do whatever, you can smoke whatever, you can relax as much as you can, but please, do not do it around the tennis courts,” Sabalenka said when asked what she was thinking at the time. "It’s a bit tricky to handle that smell while you’re trying to compete at your best.”
Pegula, the No. 3 seed, fought back to beat 2021 runner-up Leylah Fernandez 1-6, 6-4, 6-3. Pegula, who lost to Sabalenka in the 2024 final and again last year in the semifinals, had a dismal start, putting only five of 16 first serves in play during the first set.
Fernandez hadn’t won a Grand Slam singles match this year until getting to New York and was trying to reach the fourth round at the U.S. Open for the first time since falling to Emma Raducanu in the final five years ago. Pegula handled her easily in their only meeting this year but said Fernandez showed her different looks that gave her trouble.
"I didn’t start off very well. It was tough,” Pegula said. "I had to dig deep there in the second to turn that around, and it very well could have not turned around.”
Pegula advanced to face Sorana Cirstea, the 36-year-old from Romania who is contemplating retirement after this season. She will have at least one more Grand Slam match after the No. 16 seed beat No. 19 Jasmine Paolini 6-3, 6-3.
Townsend reached the round of 16 for the second straight year by knocking off No. 15 seed Diana Shnaider 6-2, 6-7 (3), 6-3 and seemed eager for the matchup with Sabalenka.
"I’m so excited. I feel like I thrive in these moments,” the American said. "I’m built for these moments, and so now is my time. I’m ready to take it. I’m ready to go.”
Wimbledon champion Linda Noskova and Marta Kostyuk, the No. 11 seed, advanced, setting up a rematch of their semifinal meeting at the All England Club. No. 7 seed Karolina Muchova, who lost in that final, was ousted by No. 26 Emma Navarro.
Daniil Medvedev, the 2021 champion, beat Arthur Rinderknech 6-4, 6-4, 6-4. The No. 7 seed will face No. 11 Frances Tiafoe, who topped No. 22 Valentin Vacherot 6-4, 6-2, 6-4.
A resurgent Stefanos Tsitsipas reached the fourth round of the U.S. Open for the first time by knocking off No. 18 seed Jiri Lehecka. Tsitsipas will face No. 8 Ben Shelton, who defeated Denis Shapovalov 7-6 (3), 6-7 (5), 6-3, 6-4 in a match that ended at 2:07 a.m. It was the third match of the tournament to end after 2 a.m., a record.