Serena Williams has broken her silence on her older sister Venus Williams entering a Grand Slam tennis tournament with a doubles partner that is not her with a viral TikTok video.
Venus, 45, has advanced to the third round of the US Open’s women’s doubles’ tournament alongside new partner, Leylah Fernandez.
During Venus’ tennis renaissance over this summer, she has found new ways to keep her career going, despite Serena hanging up her racket for the final time after the 2022 US Open.
Serena’s first statements on Venus’ team-up shows the retired legend watching her doubles’ match, jokingly rolling her eyes and putting on a few fake smiles.
‘When you see your sister @Venus Williams has a new doubles partner @leylahanniefernandez and you are really happy she’s winning with someone else…’ Serena captioned the TikTok.
Serena’s TikTok appears to poke fun at her older sister continuing in her home major. In reality, the Williams sisters have always been close, with Venus having a new partner not negatively affecting her 43-year-old sibling at all.
Serena Williams reacted to Venus Williams entering the US Open doubles draw without her
Serena joked about Venus teaming with Leylah Fernandez in a TikTok that has since gone viral
Fernandez and Williams have already qualified for the third round of the women’s doubles draw, four victories away from a championship.
The Williams sisters won 14 career doubles titles together, including twice at the US Open in 1999 and 2009.
In the singles’ bracket, Williams fell in three sets to Karolina Muchova, nearly defeating the No 11 player in the world despite her age.
A third-round opponent for Williams and Fernandez was determined on Sunday, with Ekaterina Alexandrova and Shuai Zhang advancing in a tight battle with the United Kingdom duo of Katie Boulter and Sonay Kartal.
The elder Williams has not appeared in a Grand Slam final in any capacity since the 2017 singles championship match at Wimbledon. That day, she lost to Garbine Muguruza.
Now, with Serena’s approval, it appears Venus has more momentum than in the last several years to buck that trend.
