Serena and Venus Williams' much-anticipated return to the US Open ended in a dramatic first-round defeat Friday night as the sisters lost to Hao-Ching Chan and Maya Joint in a match tiebreaker.
The Williams sisters fought back from 4-1 down in the third set and appeared in control after taking a 5-0 lead in the 10-point tiebreaker. But Chan and Joint rallied to win 6-3, 6-7 (6), 7-6 (10-7) in front of a packed and enthusiastic crowd at Arthur Ashe Stadium.
It was the sisters' first US Open appearance since 2022 at the Grand Slam event they won together in 1999 and 2009.
The loss marked another heartbreaking doubles defeat for the Williams sisters after they also fell in a match tiebreaker at the Cincinnati Open earlier this summer.
Serena, 44, returned to competitive tennis this year after stepping away from the sport in 2022 following a career that included 23 Grand Slam singles titles. Venus, 46, has continued competing on tour.
The sisters appeared to struggle in the decisive tiebreaker, with both committing double faults after playing strongly during the closing stages of the third set.
The US Open was a special stage for the Williams sisters, who won 14 Grand Slam doubles titles together and three Olympic gold medals. They also shared the No. 1 ranking in women's doubles for eight weeks.
Serena had already lost to Joint at Wimbledon earlier this summer in her return to singles competition. She and Venus later withdrew from their Wimbledon doubles match after Serena suffered a knee injury.
Meanwhile, Carlos Alcaraz advanced to the fourth round with a comfortable 6-3, 6-4, 6-1 victory over Wu Yibing.
The defending men's champion, who missed four months because of a right wrist injury, will next meet No. 20 seed Tommy Paul.
Two-time defending women's champion Aryna Sabalenka also reached the fourth round, defeating Kamilla Rakhimova 6-3, 6-4.
Sabalenka, the top seed, was briefly distracted during the match by the smell of marijuana and asked the chair umpire for help.
She is bidding to become the first player since Serena Williams in 2012-14 to win three consecutive US Open titles. Sabalenka will face American Taylor Townsend in the fourth round.
Third-seeded Jessica Pegula recovered from a poor start to beat 2021 runner-up Leylah Fernandez 1-6, 6-4, 6-3. Pegula will next play Romania's Sorana Cirstea.
Other players advancing included Wimbledon champion Linda Noskova, Marta Kostyuk, Daniil Medvedev, Frances Tiafoe and Stefanos Tsitsipas.
Medvedev beat Arthur Rinderknech 6-4, 6-4, 6-4 and will face Tiafoe, while Tsitsipas reached the fourth round at the US Open for the first time after defeating No. 18 seed Jiri Lehecka.