Venus Williams

A day after her sister Serena advanced to the second round of the singles play at US Open tennis tournament, Venus Williams was not as fortunate, losing in ...

"Right now I'm just focused on the doubles," she said, adding with a smile that it was Serena's idea. "It was definitely the longest time I have been away from tennis and been without a racquet in my hand," she said referring to her yearlong gap between competitive matches that ended earlier this month. Williams was also asked about her sister moving away from the sport and whether Serena has needed her support.

Venus Williams says she is "just focused on the doubles" amid speculation she is to retire from the sport at the same tournament as her sister Serena.

At the moment we don't know." She has not made it past the first round in the US Open since 2019 when she won one match. "You start doubting your serve and whether it's worth it or not. The pair haven't played together at Flushing Meadows since 2014. The former world No. The 42-year-old made an Open Era record 91st Grand Slam main draw appearance at Flushing Meadows on Tuesday, but she fell to a 6-1 7-6(5) defeat to world No.

Venus Williams took the court on Tuesday to play in her 23rd career U.S. Open tournament. The two-time champion ended up losing to Belgian Alison Van ...

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Unlike her sister, Venus was not prepared to deal with questions about her tennis future after a loss in the first round of the singles tournament.

“In the end, it’s just rust,” Venus said. “So it was a completely new experience for me, getting a racket back in my hand and trying to acclimate as quick as possible to be ready for the U.S. Because of her ranking, she can only make it into tour-level events through wild cards, like the one awarded to her at this U.S. But in the end, she could not manufacture quite enough form or consistency. That is a devoted fan’s view but not the message Venus sent after her latest defeat. 1 in both singles and doubles, winning seven Grand Slam singles titles (five at Wimbledon and two at the U.S. But Venus was not prepared on Tuesday to dissolve the mist surrounding her own tennis future at one of her increasingly rare news conferences. “It was definitely the longest time I have been away from tennis and been without a racket in my hand,” she said. Retirement is a rightfully sensitive subject for any star athlete, but Venus has had to deal with the speculation and thinly veiled questions much longer than most. “I’m just focused on the doubles,” she said. Open singles match of Venus’s career but there has been no clarity on her plans, which only widened the disparity between the sisters’ night-and-day experiences this week. The sisters will be forever linked in the public’s eye as players and doubles partners: sharing the same moonshot journey from cracked public courts in Compton, Calif., to Grand Slam titles and No.

No recounting of Serena Williams's career is complete without including the influence of sister Venus.

When and if Venus decides to announce her retirement, she will receive a full-throated feting of her career, as Serena is getting now. Still, the final matches of her career may not look like Serena’s. [ equal pay at Wimbledon](https://www.washingtonpost.com/archive/sports/2007/02/23/wimbledon-relents-will-award-equal-pay/73205be9-259c-4184-901d-6139897c7e4c/?itid=lk_inline_manual_28), then became the first woman to collect said equal paycheck. Venus has tried hard to be objective as her sister ponders the end of her career. For now, her mind is far from the end of her own career. Venus has always been quieter and more stoic than her fiery sister; the glitz and pomp may not be there. That they both reflected her family unit and showed the world a positive example of a Black household was extra special. And then to always see them with their father — I know the stereotypes. Long before Margaret Court’s record of 24 major singles championships came into view, the only one who could hang with her climb up the record books was Venus. She wants to provide as little influence as possible, offering nothing but unconditional support and a doubles partner, when asked. Venus, 42, and Serena, 40, have long credited a healthy portion of their success to growing up on the court together. That they were a sister act made them all the more powerful.