Serena Williams pays tribute to sister Venus in emotional US Open social media post

NEW YORK—Serena Williams paid an emotional tribute to elder sister Venus on social media following Venus’ first match at the US Open in two years.

“Strength, courage, determination, class, perseverance, inspiration… there’s not enough words to describe how proud I am of you @VenusWilliams,” Serena captioned.

“P.S. I hope to be like you.”

At 45 years old, Venus made a thrilling return to Grand Slam action after missing 16 months of play due to injuries and health issues. She won the first match of her comeback at the Mubadala Citi DC Open and earned a wild card into the US Open, where she took No. 11 seed Karolina Muchova to three sets before bowing out, 6-3, 2-6, 6-1.

Venus herself was emotional when reflecting on the comeback, feeling relief to be pain-free on court after multiple struggles and a surgery to remove uterine fibroids in 2024.

“When you play unhealthy, it's in your mind,” Williams said in her post-match press conference on Monday, later tearing up. “It's not just how you feel. You get stuck in your mind too. So...it was nice to be freer.”

Serena joined Venus on the practice court earlier this summer when the latter was gearing up for her DC Open return, fueling speculation that the 24-time Grand Slam champion could be making a comeback of her own.

“I'm her biggest fan,” Venus said of Serena last month in DC. “I never wanted her to retire.

“I mean, I keep saying to my team, ‘The only thing that would make this better is if she was here,’ like we always did everything together, so of course I miss her. But if she comes back, I'm sure she'll let y'all know.”

Serena, who remains on the International Tennis Integrity Association’s official Retired Players list, created a major buzz prior to the US Open when she made a surprise cameo at the International Tennis Hall of Fame over the weekend, giving an introduction speech to 2025 inductee Maria Sharapova. The former No. 1 could make another appearance in New York before the 2025 US Open concludes.