Sofia Kenin Hands Venus Williams 15th Straight Singles Loss at US Open

Sofia Kenin defeated Venus Williams 6-2, 7-6 (8-6) in the first round of the US Open, extending the 46-year-old Williams’ singles losing streak to 15 matches. BBC Sport reported that the all-American contest finished at 2 a.m. in New York after Williams came close to forcing a deciding set.

Watch the highlights:

The match began at 12:13 a.m. local time on Arthur Ashe Stadium, after Mariano Navone’s five-set victory over Novak Djokovic. According to the BBC, it was the latest start for a match in US Open history, and fewer than 1,000 spectators remained when Kenin completed the victory.

Williams was far more competitive in the second set after dropping the opener. The seven-time major singles champion created seven set points, including four in the tiebreak, but Kenin saved all of them. Williams led the breaker 6-2 before the 2020 Australian Open champion won the final six points to close out the match.

The defeat continued a difficult singles stretch for Williams, who is ranked 618th and entered the tournament on a wildcard. The US Open invitation was her 12th wildcard of the season, BBC Sport reported. Tournament rules do not place a limit on the number of wildcards that a Grand Slam champion can receive, although only eight places in a 128-player major singles draw are allocated that way.

Williams has not qualified for a Grand Slam through her ranking since Wimbledon in 2021, the same tournament at which she recorded her most recent singles victory at a major. The Kenin result was her 19th loss in 20 singles matches. Her only win in that span came against Peyton Stearns in Washington in July 2025, while her last singles victory at any event was also more than a year ago.

Her US Open campaign is not over. Williams is scheduled to play women’s doubles alongside her sister Serena, and she did not commit to a decision about her longer-term future after the singles defeat. For now, her immediate focus is recovery from the late finish and preparation for the doubles competition.