Venus Williams and Leylah Fernandez stun specialists to continue US Open run

Venus Williams and Leylah Fernandez are still in the running at the US Open. They have advanced to the round of 16 after defeating doubles specialists Ulrike Eikeri and Eri Hozumi with a 7-6(1), 6-1 victory. The 14-time major doubles champion and the young Canadian have been dazzling in the doubles draw, not having dropped a single set and taking down two teams with extensive experience in this type of tournament.

Venus Williams has already secured several victories since her return to the tour in 2025 after 16 months away. The 45-year-old former No. 1 decided to come back with her competitive spirit intact. In just three tournaments, she has racked up a handful of wins in both singles and doubles. In an unprecedented partnership with Leylah Fernandez, they have shown they have big ambitions for the tournament.

Williams was initially announced to play mixed doubles with Reilly Opelka, where they were eliminated in the first round by Andrey Rublev and Karolina Muchova. A few days later, Williams faced Muchova (the 11th seed) in the first round of singles, falling in a three-set battle. Even so, the American showed that she still has the level to compete and that despite being by far the oldest player at Flushing Meadows, she has what it takes to be competitive at this stage of her career.

After being eliminated from singles, it was a surprise to see Williams announced to play doubles with the 22-year-old star Leylah Fernandez, a player who has already shown her quality in doubles—reaching the 2023 Roland Garros final with Taylor Townsend—but who had not been competing with a fixed partner over the past year. The Canadian has participated in the doubles draws of all the Grand Slams this year, but with a different partner each time.

The first to serve was Venus Williams, who easily held her first service game. Hozumi also responded with a great service game. The first to show vulnerability on her serve was Fernandez, leading to the first break of the match. The Japanese/Norwegian duo went up 4-2, maintaining solid consistency and winning 67% of their service points throughout the set.

However, the North American pair came roaring back, getting the break back and tying the score at 4-4. Each player had another chance to serve, but with no more breaks, the set went to a tiebreak. With the Louis Armstrong Stadium crowd fully behind their representative Williams—along with the 2021 US Open runner-up Fernandez—they comfortably won the tiebreak 7-6 [7-1].

The second set went entirely in favor of the North Americans. Fernandez started on serve, and Williams remained consistent with her first serves. Both players held their serves and quickly took a commanding lead with two consecutive breaks, going up 4-0. The win was all but sealed, and the Fernandez-Williams duo didn't waste the opportunity, closing out the victory 7-6(1), 6-1, and advancing to the third round of the doubles draw.

Without a doubt, the partnership between Fernandez and Williams has been a surprise so far. They overcame the 6th seeds Liudmila Kichenok and Ellen Perez in the first round—a duo that came in with high ambitions after reaching the semifinals of the WTA 1000 Cincinnati Open a couple of weeks earlier.

With two straight-sets wins, Fernandez and Williams are now waiting to find out who their opponent will be in the third round. Their next opponents will be the winners of the match between the British partnership of Katie Boulter and Sonay Kartal, who will face Shuai Zhang and Ekateriana Alexandrova. Can Williams and Fernandez continue their surprising run at Flushing Meadows?