LUCIE HRADECKA

Venus Williams has withdrawn from the Australian Open for an undisclosed injury she sustained while playing in a tournament in Auckland, New Zealand this week.

The Williams sisters were eliminated by the Czech pair of Lucie Hradecka and Linda Noskova 7-6 (5), 6-4 at Flushing Meadows.

The Williams sisters were eliminated by the Czech pair of Lucie Hradecka and Linda Noskova at Flushing Meadows, leaving the court with hugs and a standing ovation.

The 22-time Grand Slam champion layed down on his back on the sideline while being treated by a trainer. The 17-year-old Noskova was making her Grand Slam doubles debut. The 14-time Grand Slam doubles champions are facing the Czech team of Lucie Hradecka and Linda Noskova. Top-ranked Daniil Medvedev will follow against Wu Yibing, the first Chinese man to win a U.S. Open match in the professional era, which began in 1968. Nadal will face Fabio Fognini in the nightcap at Arthur Ashe Stadium, after Serena and Venus Williams play their women's doubles opening match.

It was the first time a U.S. Open first-round doubles match has ever been held in Arthur Ashe Stadium, drawing a sellout crowd of over 23,000.

NEW YORK — (AP) — Serena and Venus Williams lost in the first round of doubles at the U.S. Open to the Czech pair of Lucie Hradecka and Linda Noskova 7-6 (5), 6-4 in Arthur Ashe Stadium on Thursday night. Ashe had never hosted a first-round doubles match — for women or men, during the night or day — until this one featuring two American sisters who have combined to claim 14 Grand Slam titles in doubles but were partnering for the first time since the 2018 French Open. This was their fourth first-round doubles defeat at a Slam; the most recent had been at the 2013 French Open. Venus lost in the first round of singles. ___More AP coverage of U.S. Open tennis: https://apnews.com/hub/us-open-tennis-championships and https://twitter.com/AP_SportsCopyright 2022 The Associated Press.

Serena and Venus Williams have lost in the first round of doubles at the U.S. Open.

Iga Swiatek is winning easily — and quietly.

Rafael Nadal has come back to win at the U.S. Open after cutting himself on the bridge of his nose when his racket bounced off the court and smacked him in the face during the fourth set against Fabio Fognini.

Serena Williams has eliminated No. 2 seed Anett Kontaveit 7-6 (4), 2-6, 6-2 in the U.S. Open’s second round to ensure that the 23-time Grand Slam champion will play at least one more singles match.

The talk of tennis — and beyond — for most of the past three weeks has been about Serena Williams and her announcement that she is planning to stop playing professional tennis.

NEW YORK — (AP) — Serena and Venus Williams were drawn to face the Czech pair of Lucie Hradecka and Linda Noskova in the first round of doubles at the U.S. Open. It is the first doubles event for the Williams sisters together since the 2018 French Open. They have won 14 Grand Slam championships in in doubles as a team, most recently at Wimbledon inn 2016. Hradecka is a 37-year-old who won two major doubles trophies with Andrea Hlavackova — at the 2013 U.S. Open and 2011 French Open. ___More AP coverage of U.S. Open tennis: https://apnews.com/hub/us-open-tennis-championships and https://twitter.com/AP_SportsCopyright 2022 The Associated Press.

Serena and Venus Williams were drawn to face the Czech pair of Lucie Hradecka and Linda Noskova in the first round of doubles at the U.S. Open.