American Sofia Kenin defeated 46-year-old Venus Williams 6-2, 7-6(6) in a first-round match at the US Open on August 31. The match started at 12:13 a.m. at Arthur Ashe Stadium, marking the latest start in women's US Open history, and lasted about 1 hour 48 minutes [1, 2, 3, 4].

Williams, who played as a wild card in her 96th Grand Slam main draw appearance, is a seven-time Grand Slam singles champion ranked 611th in the world at the time [1, 2, 4, 3]. The match came just after Novak Djokovic’s five-set loss to Mariano Navone, which delayed the schedule [1, 2, 3, 4].

Kenin broke Williams’ serve in the opening game and kept a strong grip to take the first set 6-2. Williams fought back with a love break to lead 3-1 but ultimately dropped serve again [1, 2, 3, 4]. In the second set, Kenin led 3-1. Williams showed flashes of her former form but struggled with consistency, especially on her second serve [1, 2, 3, 4]. Kenin saved four break points at 5-5 and forced a tiebreak, where Williams held serve for 6-5.

The tiebreak was tightly contested, with Williams having seven set points but failing to convert any. Kenin won the tiebreak 8-6 to close out the match [1, 2, 3, 4]. Fans stayed late past midnight cheering Williams with chants of "Let's go Venus," creating a charged atmosphere [1, 2, 4].

Williams, extending her losing streak at tour level to 15 matches and without a major win since Wimbledon 2021, expressed frustration about the late start. She said, "It was extremely late. I’ve never played a match that late before, and I was happy to see that so many people stuck around for that. It was a real honour to play in front of them." She added, "It’s not ideal. I would have preferred something else, definitely. I think there’s room for improvement there. It’s not easy to do it at 1 or 2 in the morning to try to find your rhythm and play your best, but I tried my best." [3, 4]

Kenin acknowledged the challenge, stating, "Venus obviously was playing some amazing tennis. I just tried to keep fighting. I didn’t feel 100% game-wise, some nerves, but I tried to do the best to stay strong in those moments." [3]

Kenin will face top-ranked American Jessica Pegula in the next round [1, 2, 4].