Venus Williams saw her dreams of winning another Grand Slam doubles title come to an end at the 2025 US Open.
The 45-year-old and her partner Leylah Fernandez were defeated by the top-seeded pairing of Taylor Townsend and Katerina Siniakova on Tuesday (September 2) at Louis Armstrong Stadium.
The 6-1 6-2 quarter-final loss for Williams and Fernandez closes the former's chances of winning a third US Open doubles title and a 15th at Grand Slam events.
Williams, who only returned to the court in July after 16 months away, was critical of her display in New York and felt that she let her partner down.
"I wish I could have played better today for Leylah. I blame myself for a lot of it. I just wasn't there," the American said in her post-match press conference alongside Fernandez.
"We played a great team. They have been playing together for years. They've had a lot of success," Williams added.
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Townsend and Siniakova will face Veronika Kudermetova and Elise Mertens in the semi-finals at Flushing Meadows on Wednesday (September 3).
Williams provided valuable moments in the Big Apple despite exit
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While the American crowd would love to have seen Williams go all the way in the women's doubles event, they will recognise the tennis icon was still able to provide some cheer for her home supporters at this year's US Open.
Alongside Fernandez, Williams helped to take down the sixth seed pairing of Lyudmyla Kichenok and Ellen Perez in the opening round.
Also, after receiving a wildcard entry to compete in the singles event, Williams engaged in a relatively competitive contest with 11th seed Karolina Muchova in the first round.
Despite losing to the Czech, it was impressive how, at 45, Williams was able to stretch the match to three sets.
The American also participated in the highly-anticipated mixed doubles event alongside compatriot Reilly Opelka, but the pair exited in their opening match as Muchova and Andrey Rublev beat them.
Williams intends to continue playing tennis but it is unclear which events on the WTA Tour she will prioritise and select to compete in moving forward.
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