US OPEN

August 31, 2026

Venus Williams

Press Conference

S. KENIN/V. Williams

6-2, 7-6

Q. Despite the crazy late start, how meaningful was it to you to see how many people were waiting to watch you play tonight?

VENUS WILLIAMS: Yeah, I feel like the crowd was really enthusiastic. It was extremely late. I've never played a match that late before, and I was happy to see that so many people stuck around for that. It was a real honor to play in front of them.

Q. That was the latest US Open match start time ever. How did you manage that? What was the wait like? What was it like physically starting after midnight? That's really unusual.

VENUS WILLIAMS: Yeah, it's not ideal. I would have preferred something else definitely. I think it wasn't great for either of us, so I think we both tried our best.

Yeah, I just don't know any other sport where you have to start that late. I definitely think there's room for improvement there.

Q. Even with the wait, did you give yourself any time to sort of soak it in? You played at Ashe a bunch of times. Did you soak in the moment at all where the match started?

VENUS WILLIAMS: I always try to appreciate it, but it is definitely all business. There's no room for error. As much as you get close and knock on the door, it still isn't over until you cross that line.

SO try to soak it in, and soaking it in is more fun when the ball is going in.

Q. You were knocking on the door the second set. You were very close to taking that set. What do you think made the difference there?

VENUS WILLIAMS: I think she played well. Yeah, I mean, I hit even a really nice serve. She hit a winner. You know, I had some chances on her serve. She had a great second serve. Maybe I had a loose point here or there, but I don't think that I just gave it away.

I think it was just a little bit unlucky, and I think it's some of the best tennis she's played lately for sure.

Q. From your point of view, do you think that was more her than you, in other words?

VENUS WILLIAMS: I this it was both. I think it was definitely both, and I think I had a lot of great moments today, for sure. As the match progressed, I just kept pushing myself to try to find my best tennis and to find my rhythm.

It's not easy to do in the first round. It's not easy to do it at 1:00 or 2:00 a.m. in the morning to, like, try to find your rhythm and play your best, but I tried my best.

Q. You have doubles coming up later this week. Are you looking forward to that?

VENUS WILLIAMS: Of course, I definitely will be focused on that and super excited about it.

Q. Have you given any thought to what you want to do beyond that?

VENUS WILLIAMS: I don't think I should have to. I mean, my mind is fully focused on that. So I'm going to recover from this completely insane evening and get ready for the next one.