Venus Williams/ Leylah Fernandez def. (No. 12) Ekaterina Alexandrova/Zhang Shuai 6-3, 6-4
Venus Williams continued her dream run at the US Open by reaching the women’s doubles quarterfinals alongside Leylah Fernandez. The 45-year-old American and her 22-year-old Canadian partner upset No. 12 seeds Ekaterina Alexandrova and Zhang Shuai 6-3, 6-4 in 74 minutes on Louis Armstrong Stadium.
The righty-lefty pairing proved effective throughout, breaking serve four times and applying steady pressure at the net. Williams and Fernandez jumped to a 2-0 lead in the opening set, then quickly regained control after surrendering a break, with Williams hitting a decisive return to earn a 5-3 lead before closing out the set on serve.
In the second set, Williams and Fernandez earned the first break before Alexandrova and Zhang pulled even at 3-2. From there, the duo broke again for a 4-3 lead and never looked back, sealing the match on Williams’ serve to advance to the quarterfinals.
For Williams, this marks her first Grand Slam quarterfinal of any kind since the 2017 US Open and her deepest run at a major since the 2018 French Open. Fernandez, the 2021 US Open singles runner-up, brought poise and confidence to the partnership despite the 23-year age gap.
The pair, who were awarded a wild card into the draw, had never played together before last week. Yet they have quickly found rhythm, upsetting No. 6 seeds Lyudmyla Kichenok and Ellen Perez in the opening round before defeating Ulrikke Eikeri and Eri Hozumi 7-6(1), 6-1 in the second round. With three straight wins, they remain unbeaten as a team and have not dropped a set.
Williams, a seven-time singles and 14-time women’s doubles Grand Slam champion, is competing in her 25th US Open. She won her first doubles title in New York with sister Serena Williams in 1999, three years before Fernandez was born. All 14 of her major doubles titles came alongside Serena, including two at the US Open.
Williams and Fernandez will now face the top-seeded team of Taylor Townsend and Katerina Siniakova on Tuesday for a place in the semifinals.
