Carlos Alcaraz and Aryna Sabalenka successfully advanced to the US Open round of 16. Meanwhile, tennis icons Serena and Venus Williams suffered a painful defeat in the first round of the women's doubles tournament following their long-awaited return to the Grand Slam.
Alcaraz, returning after a four-month absence due to injury, defeated Chinese Wu Yibin 6-3, 6-4, 6-1, securing his place in the quarterfinals. Sabalenka also demonstrated dominant play, beating Camila Rachimova 6-3, 6-4.
In the quarterfinals, Alcaraz is set to face American Tommy Paul, who beat Alexander Bublik 6-4, 3-6, 6-7 (4/7), 6-1, 6-3. Alcaraz commented on the match against Wu, noting: 'The way he plays is incredible, the rhythm he has in every shot—forehand, backhand.' He added that he played aggressively and intelligently in the most difficult moments.
Sabalenka, the world number one, did not allow a single break point in her match against Rachimova, hitting 29 winners with 10 aces. However, the match was not limited to statistics, as Rachimova, ranked 92nd, managed to challenge Sabalenka in the second set. Sabalenka also expressed dissatisfaction with the pervasive smell of marijuana drifting from the spectator stands during her match.
Sabalenka, who needs to retain her title to stay at number one, will meet American Taylor Townsend in the next match. Townsend defeated 15th seed Diana Snyder 6-2, 6-7 (3/7), 6-3.
Williams sisters suffer defeat in a tense match
With Alcaraz and Sabalenka participating earlier in the day, all attention was focused on the evening session featuring the Williams sisters, who were playing together in the Grand Slam doubles for the first time since 2022. Serena Williams' return to the US Open court came after the 23-time singles champion took a four-year break for Wimbledon.
However, the most famous tennis pair, who have won 14 Grand Slam doubles titles together and three Olympic gold medals, were defeated by 14th seed Hao-Chin Chan from Taiwan and Maia Joint from Australia with a score of 6-3, 6-7 (6/8), 7-6 (10/7) in a three-hour battle. The Williams sisters managed to show glimpses of their brilliant level, recovering after losing the first set and leveling the score in the second set thanks to a tie-break.
Momentum and the loud crowd in New York seemed to lead them to victory after they pulled ahead 5-0 in the third-set tie-break. Nevertheless, Chan and Joint brilliantly fought back and ultimately secured the win.
Pegula advances, Muchova suffers defeat
In other singles matches on Friday, American Jessica Pegula, the third seed and one of the contenders for Sabalenka's number one ranking spot, managed a desperate comeback, defeating Canadian Leila Fernandes 1-6, 6-4, 6-3 in a battle between former finalists. Additionally, Ukrainian Marta Kostyuk beat Russian Ekaterina Alexandrova 6-3, 6-2, while American Emma Navarro defeated Czech Caroline Muchova, the seventh seed, 6-3, 7-5.
In the men's tournament, American Francis Tiafo comfortably defeated Valentin Vasherov from Monaco, who was ranked 22nd seed, 6-4, 6-2, 6-4. Tiafo's victory secured him a spot in the eighth final against Russian seventh seed Daniil Medvedev.
Medvedev also easily defeated French 26th seed Arthur Rinderknech 6-4, 6-4, 6-4 in less than two hours. Unseeded former world number three Stefanos Tsitsipas, whose ranking has dropped to 53rd, in turn, defeated 18th seed Yiri Lehecka 2-6, 6-1, 7-6 (7/3), 6-1, to reach the US Open quarterfinals for the first time. Tsitsipas will face American eighth seed Ben Shelton in the round of 16. Shelton defeated Canadian Denis Shapovalov 7-6 (7/3), 6-7 (5/7), 6-3, 6-4 in a late match.