Venus Williams gives Leylah Fernandez the 'biggest compliment' with Serena Williams remark after US Open doubles win

Following their first-round victory at the 2025 US Open, Venus Williams had words of praise for her 22-year-old doubles partner, Leylah Fernandez. They defeated No. 6 seeds Lyudmyla Kichenok and Ellen Perez 7-6, 6-3. It was a thrilling comeback before a roaring crowd at Louis Armstrong Stadium, given that at one point they were down 2-5 in the first set.

It marked Williams' first doubles victory since 2014. She's a 14-time doubles Grand Slam champion and all of her victories previously have come thanks in partnership with younger sister Serena Williams. In the post-match comments, Williams called Fernandez "the best partner I ever played with, outside of Serena."

"Thank you to my partner too," Williams said. "It's the best partner I've ever played with outside of Serena. I think we're almost the same. We play the same style. I'm just a little bit bigger. We're a great team though, so thank you."

For the 22-year-old Fernandez, it was the biggest compliment she has received. In the post-match conference, she said:

"I was shocked. It was probably the biggest compliment I've ever gotten. Thank you, Venus. I feel like those are big shoes to fill at the moment. I'm just super happy and I think it's just another opportunity for me to get better as a tennis player and just keep improving."

The partnership that upset the No. 6 seeds of the tournament advanced to the second round. There, they'll face the pairing of Eri Hozumi and Ulrikke Eikeri.

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How has Venus Williams performed at US Open?

Apart from the doubles victory, Venus Williams also featured in the singles and mixed doubles events of the tournament in New York. She had a hard-fought three-set defeat against No. 11 seed Karolina Muchova, losing 6-3, 2-6, 6-1. Meanwhile, in mixed doubles, she teamed up with Reilly Opelka, and the duo was defeated in the first round by Andrey Rublev and Karolina Muchova.

“I didn’t win today, but I’m very proud of how I played,” Williams told reporters after losing to Muchova. "My team and I, we worked as hard and as fast as we could.

"We literally took no days off. I haven't gone to dinner. I haven't seen friends. I haven't done anything except train for three months as hard as I could. From each match that I didn't win, then I tried to go back and learn from that and then get better."

Earlier at the DC Open in Washington, Venus Williams made a comeback to professional tennis after a 16-month hiatus following a uterine fibroid surgery last year. In her first match since March 2024, she defeated World No. 35 Peyton Stearns in straight sets (6-3, 6-4). This earned her the title of becoming the oldest player to win a tour-level singles match since Martina Navratilova in 2004.