Christmas came early for Leylah Fernandez when Venus Williams agreed to be her doubles partner

Tennis' biggest stars didn't just let their racquets do the talking in 2025. To look back on a memorable season, we're counting down some of the biggest winners in the press conference room and on the microphone—and we couldn't stop smiling at Leylah Fernandez's earnest giddiness when Venus Williams agreed to play doubles with her at the US Open.

The 45-year-old Williams' return to the WTA tour was one of the stories of the summer, and it reached a fever pitch at her home Grand Slam event. After the former world No. 1 became the second-oldest woman to win a WTA main-draw match when she defeated Peyton Stearns in Washington, D.C., she arrived in New York City in the hopes of rolling back the years as she was pain-free for the first time after 16 months on the sidelines.

Williams entered three events in all, beginning with the reimagined mixed doubles event with Reilly Opelka, and women's singles. After she went 0-2 in those draws, though she pushed Karolina Muchova in a thrilling three-setter inside Arthur Ashe Stadium in the latter, it was an eleventh-hour collaboration with the 2021 US Open finalist that left a lasting impression.

Read more: “It was nice to be freer”: Venus Williams tears up in US Open press conference

A day after Williams lost to Muchova, the tournament announced her US Open run would continue as a wild-card pairing with Fernandez, who became just the 10th player other than sister Serena to team up with Venus.

I was like a kid on Christmas day just jumping around. I was so happy. I don't think I stopped smiling for the whole night and even in the morning. I was just super happy and excited. Leylah Fernandez

Fernandez's Christmas present soon became a Cinderella story, as the wild-card team electrified Flushing Meadows for more than a week behind three consecutive wins.

But their magical run was almost over before it started.

“I wasn’t going to play, then apparently Leylah’s partner pulled out at the last minute," the former world No. 1 recalled in a recent vlog posted on her YouTube channel. "I walked off the court after my singles match thinking I can finally relax. I played the best I could, I was proud of my efforts, and I never really feel that way, but I was already kind of out. The next thing I know, it’s like ‘Can you play?’

“I was thinking no, because whenever I would play with players in the past, they would get so tight, they just weren’t able to perform, so I don’t need that in my life. But on the way home, I was like, maybe I’ll give it a try."

Their run was stopped only by No. 1 seeds Taylor Townsend and Katerina Siniakova, but the chemistry was palpable between the two on and off the court. Williams heaped praise on the left-hander, saying that she was the best doubles partner she's ever had other than Serena and that the two share unwavering intensity.

"I was shocked," a stunned Fernandez laughed, "It was like probably the biggest compliment I ever got."