Venus and Serena Williams' highly anticipated US Open return ends in heartbreaking loss

Serena and Venus Williams, two tennis legends, returned to the U.S. Open court together for the first time in 4 years. They played in the women's doubles tournament at Arthur Ashe Stadium on Friday night, but lost in a thrilling three-set match against Maya Joint of Australia and Hao-Ching Chan of Taiwan, 6-3, 6-7 (6), 7-6 (10-8). The Williams sisters mounted an epic comeback, forcing two tiebreakers, but ultimately fell short. This was the second consecutive grand slam that Joint has played spoiler, having knocked Serena out in the first round of Wimbledon's ladies singles on Centre Court earlier this summer.

It had been a highly anticipated return for the Williams sisters, who have won the U.S. Open women's doubles championship twice before, in 1999 and 2009. Serena returned to tennis this year after a four-year layoff due to injury, and this marked her second loss to Joint this summer. The match was played in front of a packed and passionate crowd, with many celebrities in attendance, including Mr. Beast, Anna Wintour, and Andy Dalton.

After the match, Serena "fled the scene" without participating in a post-match press conference, leaving behind her sister Venus, who stayed on to talk to reporters. The USTA did not fine the sisters for skipping the press conference, but it is a code violation to skip out on media obligations without an excuse such as injury or illness.