Kenin denies Williams comeback to reach US Open second round
In a first-round clash between two wildcards and American Grand Slam champions who have both struggled on court this year, former Australian Open champion Sofia Kenin staved off a late second-set challenge from seven-time Grand Slam singles winner Venus Williams to advance to the second round of the US Open on opening night in New York.
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Playing in her record-extending 26th US Open main-draw, Williams, who won the title in 2000 and 2001, was slow off the blocks and found herself down two breaks at 3-0. Although she pulled back one break to cut the deficit to 3-2, Kenin stayed on top and claimed the first set 6-2.
The 27-year-old Kenin broke early in the second set to go up 3-1 and Williams appeared headed for a straight-set loss as she served at 2-4 and facing break point. But that's when the 46-year-old American began to find her game.
Down 6-2, 4-2, Williams mounts a comeback
Williams held off the break point and went on to win three games in a row to take a 5-4 lead. She earned three set points on Kenin's serve in the 10th game but was unable to convert. At 5-5, Williams saved four break points to hold for a 6-5 lead.
Although Kenin held easily to push the set into a tiebreak, the momentum appeared to have swung in Williams' favor. She went up 6-2 in the tiebreak, earning four more set points, but Kenin saved each of them before converting her first match point to close out the 6-3, 7-6 (9-7) victory in 1 hour, 48 minutes.
For Williams, the loss dropped her record to 0-12 for the season and marked her fifth consecutive opening-round loss at the US Open.
Kenin finished the match with 28 winners and 21 unforced errors, while Williams hit 13 winners and committed 24 unforced errors. It was only Kenin’s sixth main-draw win at the WTA level in 2026 and she improved to 21-13 in Grand Slam main draw matches.
She will be looking to win back-to-back matches at a tournament for the first time this season when she faces another American, No. 3 seed Jessica Pegula, who defeated Elena-Gabriela Ruse 6-3, 6-2 in the day session Sunday.
