U.S. Open 2023:Venus Williams loss to Greet Minnen

There was a Williams sister out there in Arthur Ashe Stadium on Tuesday night, much to the delight of spectators who offered a standing ovation at the end of the match. Except this time it was Venus, not Serena, and there was no ceremony, no formal farewell -- and, unlike a year ago, no indication of what the future might hold.

Her younger sister's playing days are done after one last hurrah at Flushing Meadows in 2022, but Venus Williams is still competing, still striving, even if her age, 43, and a knee injury did her no favors on this muggy evening. Williams was eliminated 6-1, 6-1 by Belgian qualifier Greet Minnen in the first round of the US Open, her most lopsided loss in 100 career matches at the Grand Slam tournament where she won the trophy in 2000 and 2001.

Venus Williams began the match on a rough note, ceding triple-break point to Minnen and later double-faulting to fall behind two breaks. It wasn't a total blowout at the start — Williams reached deuce in three of the first four games — but Williams still looked a step behind the form that put her in a Grand Slam final as recently as 2017, when she made it to the Australian Open and Wimbledon finals.

Those matches now feel like the distant past, with Williams having not won a Grand Slam match since Wimbledon in 2021, when she lost in the second round, and having not won a US Open match since 2019. There was little reason to expect a reversal by the time Minnen broke Williams a third time to win the first set, as the ESPN broadcast noted that Williams hadn't won a match after losing the first set in four years.

Williams, who burst on the scene in 1994 as a 14-year-old, achieved success rapidly during her early years as a professional. She won seven individual Grand Slam titles—including five at Wimbledon—between 2000 and ‘08 and 14 doubles championships alongside her younger sister, Serena.

Though Serena, a 23-time Grand Slam champion, announced that she was stepping away from tennis after last year’s U.S. Open, Venus has yet to publicly declare her future intentions in the sport.

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Sarah H

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