MANILA, Philippines — Venus Williams drew fellow American Sofia Kenin in the first round of the U.S. Open on Thursday, creating a potential Williams sisters matchup that could have happened had Serena Williams chosen to compete in singles.
The 46-year-old Venus received a wild card into the singles draw, while the U.S. Tennis Association initially reserved another spot for Serena after the six-time U.S. Open champion returned to tennis for the first time since 2022.
Serena, 44, ultimately decided to play only doubles, prompting the USTA to award the remaining wild card to Kenin, the 2020 Australian Open champion.
The draw then paired Venus and Kenin in the opening round. Main draw action begins Sunday.
Venus and Kenin will play on the same side of the draw as No. 3 seed Jessica Pegula. The winner will face Pegula, who opens against Elena-Gabriela Ruse, in the second round.
Two-time defending champion Aryna Sabalenka, the top seed, will begin against Camila Osorio. She could meet No. 6 seed and Wimbledon champion Linda Noskova in the quarterfinals.
The other projected women’s quarterfinal matchups are No. 2 Elena Rybakina against No. 8 Iga Swiatek, Pegula against No. 7 Karolina Muchova, and No. 4 Coco Gauff against No. 5 Mirra Andreeva, the French Open champion.
Some first-round matchups remained unsettled Thursday as qualifying continued. No. 11 Marta Kostyuk and No. 17 Alex Eala were among the players waiting for their opponents.
