Venus Williams is excited to play doubles with Serena Williams in her sister's final professional event, and she revealed it was Serena's idea to compete together.
Serena announced she will retire after the US Open a few weeks ago. The legendary 23-time Grand Slam singles champion feels now is the right time to move away from tennis and pursue other interests, like entrepreneurship.
Tributes have poured in from several players already since Serena made the announcement. This included Stefanos Tsitsipas jokingly telling her to return to tennis in the future as daughter Olympia's coach.
Serena delayed her retirement in the opening round of the women's singles. The six-time US Open champion played solidly against Danka Kovinic, saving eight of the ten break points she faced in a 6-3, 6-3 triumph.
By contrast, Venus lost in the opening round 1-6, 6-7 against Allison Van Uytvanck. The second set tiebreak was very close, but the five-time Wimbledon singles champion could not take the match to a deciding set.
However, Venus will have a chance to go further with Serena in the doubles after the US Open gave the pair a wild card. Venus revealed her younger sister decided she wanted them to play doubles together.
“Right now I’m just focused on the doubles. It was Serena's idea. The boss, so do whatever she tells me to do (smiling). I don't think we have played since 2016, but might be getting that wrong. We have had some great wins. It would be nice to add some more."
Serena and Venus have won 14 Grand Slam doubles titles together and have never lost a major final as a team. Their chances of adding a 15th to their list of honors should not be ruled out.
Some expected Venus to retire with Serena at the US Open, but there have been no imminent signs of that speculation being real.