The sisters Serena and Venus Williams played what was probably the last match of their lives as a doubles team on Thursday, losing in the first round of the US Open to the Czechs Lucie Hradecka and Linda Noskova.
serena williams 40 years old, still living in singles and will face the Australian this Friday Ajla Tomjanović, while venus williams42, was eliminated in the first round.
Despite their loss, the Williams sisters’ “last dance” at Flushing Meadows brought New York to a standstill, with lines of more than an hour to get to the Arthur Ashe court, tickets as high as $1,800 and glories such as former tennis players Stan Smith and Tracy Austin among the famous ones on the stand.
It is unusual for the first round of a doubles tournament to be played at Arthur Ashe and the chain monopolizes prime time ‘ESPN’. But the farewell of Serena Williams, who plans to retire from tennis after this US Open, has generated huge expectations and made each of her matches in the spotlight.
Hradecka and Noskova prevailed on merit 7-6 (5) and 6-4, after dropping two set points in the first set, but that didn’t dampen the party at Flushing Meadows, where the crowd showed their love and gratitude to two American stars.
A LEGENDARY PALMARÉS
Serena and Venus Williams have won 22 doubles titles, including fourteen majors, two of them in New York, and three Olympic gold medals.
Only Martina Navratilova and Pam Shriver they won more ‘majors’ as a couple, with twenty crowns.
At the individual level, Serena has won 23 ‘majors’, with seven Australian Opens, seven Wimbledons, six US Opens and three Roland Garros. In total, he has 74 trophies in his record.
Venus won seven majors, five Wimbledons and two US Opens. In total, he won 49 titles and more than 42 million dollars in prize money.
JAMS AT FLUSHING MEADOWS
More than an hour before the start of the doubles match between Serena and Venus Williams, there were noticeable traffic jams on the way to USTA Billie Jean King Center from midtown Manhattan. It took more than an hour to get to the tennis center, when at other times of the day 25 minutes would have been enough.
But no one wants to miss a historic moment in the legendary career of Serena Williams, who competes in this tournament in both singles and doubles.
Williams’ first-round match against Montenegrin Danka Kovinic, broadcast in prime time on ESPN, was the most-watched since 2015 on US television, averaging 2.7 million viewers.
The Arthur Ashe court is packed with fans for every Williams match, despite the high price of tickets.
The cheapest ticket to attend the return of the Williams brothers to doubles was $200 hours before the start of the game and the most expensive sold for more than $1,800 on digital sales platforms.
CLINTON, TIGER, SPIKE LEE, STAN SMITH AND TRACY AUSTIN, CELEBRITIES IN THE STANDS
Politicians, filmmakers, actors and elite athletes have flocked to Arthur Ashe in recent days to see Serena Williams’ latest exhibits in person.
Among the fans sitting in Ashe are celebrities such as former US President Bill Clinton (1993-2001), filmmaker Spike Lee, former skier Lindsey Vonn, golfer Tiger Woods or former tennis players Stan Smith and Tracy Austin.
In addition, the vice president of the US, Kamala Harris, thanked the tennis player for “inspiring people” with her “talent, beauty and determination”, after the brilliant victory achieved in the second round of US Open against Estonian Anett Kontaveit, no. two in the world ranking.
Source: La Verdad
I am Ida Scott, a journalist and content author with a passion for uncovering the truth. I have been writing professionally for Today Times Live since 2020 and specialize in political news. My career began when I was just 17; I had already developed a knack for research and an eye for detail which made me stand out from my peers.
