Maya Joint has beaten Serena Williams for the second time in two months, overcoming the 23-time Grand Slam singles champion in a dramatic US Open doubles clash at Arthur Ashe Stadium.
The 20-year-old Australian and her partner, Hao-Ching Chan, defeated Serena and her sister Venus Williams 6-3, 6-7 (6), 7-6 (10) in the first round in New York on Friday.
Joint’s latest victory followed her headline-making singles win over Serena at Wimbledon in June, when she prevailed 6-3, 6-7 (6), 6-3 on Centre Court to end the American’s return to singles competition.
This time, the match was decided by a tense championship tie-break. Joint and Chan held their nerve to edge the Williams sisters 10-7 and send the wildcard pairing out of the tournament.
Serena and Venus were playing together at a Grand Slam for the first time since the 2022 US Open. The sisters have won 14 major women’s doubles titles, including two in New York, but could not complete their latest comeback in front of a packed Arthur Ashe Stadium.
Joint arrived in New York with renewed confidence after a strong run of form on hard courts. The Australian had also won a doubles title in Monterrey with China’s Xu Yifan before partnering Chan at the US Open, where the pair were seeded 14th.
Her victory over the Williams sisters came shortly after Joint’s singles campaign ended in the second round with a three-set defeat by ninth seed Elina Svitolina. It nevertheless extended a remarkable fortnight for the rising Australian, who has now beaten Serena on both of tennis’s most famous stages.
