Serena and Venus Williams will begin their US Open doubles return against 14th seeds Chan Hao-Ching and Maya Joint, a demanding first-round assignment for the two-time champions as they seek their first victory together since 2018.
Williams sisters handed seeded opening test in US Open doubles draw
SEO Title: Serena and Venus Williams Draw Chan and Joint at 2026 US Open
SEO Description: Serena and Venus Williams open their 2026 US Open doubles campaign against 14th seeds Chan Hao-Ching and Maya Joint, with the winners set for a second-round meeting against Fossa Huergo/Korpatsch or Maleckova/Skoch.
The Williams sisters return to Grand Slam doubles competition together for the first time since the 2022 US Open. Their last major appearance as a pairing ended in the opening round, when Lucie Hradecka and Linda Noskova won 7-6(5), 6-4.
- Venus and Serena first entered the US Open doubles field in 1997, losing their opener 6-4, 7-5 to Julie Hetherington and Kathy Rinaldi.
- They claimed their first Flushing Meadows doubles trophy in 1999, defeating Chanda Rubin and Sandrine Testud in the final.
- The sisters added a second New York title in 2009, beating defending champions Cara Black and Liezel Huber for one of their 14 Grand Slam doubles crowns.
- Three weeks before this US Open, they resumed their partnership in Cincinnati but fell 6-2, 1-6, [10-8] to Marta Kostyuk and Peyton Stearns in the first round.
- Their most recent team win remains a 6-4, 6-2 defeat of Sara Errani and Kirsten Flipkens in the second round at Roland Garros in 2018.
Joint brings recent singles success over Serena
Joint has already faced Serena Williams during the summer, winning their Wimbledon first-round singles meeting 6-3, 6-7(6), 6-3. That match remains Serena’s only singles outing of her comeback to date.
The Australian has formed a productive new partnership with Chan. In their first month together, they reached the Memphis final, made the second round in Toronto and advanced to the Cincinnati quarterfinals. Joint also collected her third WTA doubles title in Monterrey last week alongside Xu Yifan, while Chan secured her 22nd WTA doubles crown in Athens last month with Miyu Kato.
Chan has previously beaten the Williams sisters when playing alongside Liezel Huber. The pair edged Serena and Venus 6-7(3), 6-4, [11-9] in the opening round in Beijing in 2013. Serena later earned a measure of revenge in the 2022 Eastbourne quarterfinals, partnering Ons Jabeur to beat Chan and Shuko Aoyama 6-2, 6-4.
Route through the section
The winner of the Williams-Chan/Joint match will play either Nicole Fossa Huergo and Tamara Korpatsch or Jesika Maleckova and Miriam Skoch in round two. Fourth seeds Hsieh Su-Wei and Jelena Ostapenko are the projected third-round opponents.
Top seeds and champions elsewhere in the draw
- Top seeds Katerina Siniakova and Taylor Townsend open against American wild cards Reese Brantmeier and Savannah Broadus as they chase their first US Open title together. Siniakova won the title with Barbora Krejcikova in 2022, while Townsend finished runner-up with Caty McNally in 2022 and alongside Siniakova last year.
- Defending champions Gabriela Dabrowski and Erin Routliffe are competing with new partners. Second seeds Dabrowski and Luisa Stefani face Anastasia Detiuc and Irina Khromacheva, while ninth seeds Routliffe and Aldila Sutjiadi meet Ann Li and Clara Tauson.
- 2012 champion Sara Errani joins 18-year-old Lilli Tagger for their second major together after reaching the Roland Garros second round. They open against 16-year-old American twins Annika and Kristina Penickova, with Dabrowski and Stefani a possible second-round challenge.
