Venus Williams wins a US Open women's doubles match for the 1st time since 2014 — without Serena

NEW YORK (AP) — Venus Williams insists she is not a good doubles player. The 14 major championships she and Serena won together tell a different story.

Without her younger sister by her side, Williams showed Thursday she's still got it. Williams won a women’s doubles match at the U.S. Open for the first time in more than a decade, teaming with Leylah Fernandez to defeat the sixth-seeded pair of Lyudmyla Kichenok and Ellen Perez 7-6 (4), 6-3.

When it was over, the 45-year-old Williams did her signature twirl-and-wave and called Fernandez “the best partner I ever played with — outside of Serena.” The 22-year-old Canadian even reminded Venus of Serena.

“Our energy really matched each other in terms of determination, in terms of not giving up, in terms of really still just focused and dialed in in every single thing,” Williams said. “That felt amazing because I never really played with a partner — outside of Serena, obviously — who had that kind of mentality, so it was really fun.”

Williams and Fernandez, the 2021 singles runner-up at Flushing Meadows, were heavy fan favorites at a nearly-full Louis Armstrong Stadium, and the chair umpire had to ask the crowd multiple times to quiet down.

The spectators gave Williams and Fernandez a standing ovation after they claimed the opening tiebreaker despite trailing 5-2 in that set — and rose again to cheer after the match ended in 90 minutes.

“Leylah is a good player, (and) Venus is also a good doubles player," Kichenok said. “They have played doubles many times. They know what it is. Maybe it took a bit of time to adjust at the beginning, but then they found their rhythm.”

Throughout the match, there were chants of “Here we go, Venus, here we go!” and a sign in the stands read, “Welcome to the Williams show.”

"Wow," Williams said in her on-court interview. "Thank you, you guys. Thank you for showing up for us."

Williams hadn't won a women’s doubles match in New York since 2014, when she and Serena made it to the quarterfinals, or at any Grand Slam tournament since the 2018 French Open.

“It’s an area that I’m not that comfortable in, being on a doubles court, but I think you get to some point in the match where you stop thinking about it,” Williams said. “When push comes to shove, I’ll do what I have to, but I’m a singles player, so of course when I walk out there, I actually tell myself just to play singles and try that method. I try not to be something that I’m not.”

The older Williams won seven Grand Slam titles in singles and another two in mixed doubles. She had been off the tour for 16 months until returning to action by playing singles and doubles at Washington in July.

“With the amount of matches I’ve played, I’m progressing very quickly,” Williams said. “I didn’t have to come back to play tennis, but eventually I found my way back.”

At Flushing Meadows, Williams lost in the first round of mixed doubles and singles, then was awarded a wild card for women's doubles. Fernandez described feeling “like a kid on Christmas Day” and jumping around with a smile on her face after getting the call that Williams wanted to play doubles with her.

She was shocked to hear the comparison to Serena.

“It’s probably the biggest compliment I’ve ever gotten,” Fernandez said. “I feel like those are big shoes to fill.”

Back in doubles at the U.S. Open for the first time since 2022, Williams gets to keep going in New York after pushing 11th-seeded Karolina Muchova to three sets before bowing out of singles play Monday night. Ulrikke Eikeri and Eri Hozumi are up next in the second round of doubles.

“I actually feel great,” Williams said. “With some luck, we’ll stay, maybe win another round and just keep getting better.”

Venus Williams, of the United States, right, and Leylah Fernandez, of Canada, hug after defeating Lyudmyla Kichenok, of the Czech Republic and Ellen Perez, of Australia, in a first round women's doubles match during the U.S. Open tennis championships, Thursday, Aug. 28, 2025, in New York. (AP Photo/Yuki Iwamura)

Venus Williams, of the United States, left, and Leylah Fernandez, of Canada, talk on the court during a first round women's doubles match against Lyudmyla Kichenok, of the Czech Republic and Ellen Perez, of Australia, during the U.S. Open tennis championships, Thursday, Aug. 28, 2025, in New York. (AP Photo/Yuki Iwamura)

Venus Williams, of the United States, left, and Leylah Fernandez, of Canada, talk on the court during a first round women's doubles match against Lyudmyla Kichenok, of the Czech Republic and Ellen Perez, of Australia, during the U.S. Open tennis championships, Thursday, Aug. 28, 2025, in New York. (AP Photo/Yuki Iwamura)

Venus Williams, of the United States, returns a shot to Lyudmyla Kichenok, of the Czech Republic, and Ellen Perez, of Australia, during a first round women's double match of the U.S. Open tennis championships, Thursday, Aug. 28, 2025, in New York. (AP Photo/Yuki Iwamura)

Leylah Fernandez, of Canada, right, returns a shot over doubles partner Venus Williams, of the United States, to Lyudmyla Kichenok, of the Czech Republic, and Ellen Perez, of Australia, during a first-round doubles match of the U.S. Open tennis championships, Thursday, Aug. 28, 2025, in New York. (AP Photo/Yuki Iwamura)

Venus Williams, of the United States, left, and Leylah Fernandez, of Canada, talk on the court during a first round women's doubles match against Lyudmyla Kichenok, of the Czech Republic and Ellen Perez, of Australia, during the U.S. Open tennis championships, Thursday, Aug. 28, 2025, in New York. (AP Photo/Yuki Iwamura)

MINNEAPOLIS (AP) — President Donald Trump on Thursday threatened to invoke the Insurrection Act and deploy troops to quell persistent protests against the federal officers sent to Minneapolis to enforce his administration's massive immigration crackdown.

The president's threat comes a day after a federal immigration officer shot and wounded a Minneapolis man who had attacked the officer with a shovel and broom handle. That shooting further heightened the fear and anger radiating across the Minnesota city since an Immigration and Customs Enforcement agent fatally shot a Renee Good in the head.

Trump has repeatedly threatened to invoke the rarely used federal law to deploy the U.S. military or federalize the National Guard for domestic law enforcement, over the objections of state governors.

“If the corrupt politicians of Minnesota don’t obey the law and stop the professional agitators and insurrectionists from attacking the Patriots of I.C.E., who are only trying to do their job, I will institute the INSURRECTION ACT, which many Presidents have done before me, and quickly put an end to the travesty that is taking place in that once great State,” Trump said in social media post.

The Associated Press has reached out to the offices of Gov. Tim Walz and Minneapolis Mayor Jacob Frey for comment.

The Department of Homeland Security says it has made more than 2,000 arrests in the state since early December and is vowing to not back down. ICE is a DHS agency.

In Minneapolis, smoke filled the streets Wednesday night near the site of the latest shooting as federal officers wearing gas masks and helmets fired tear gas into a small crowd. Protesters responded by throwing rocks and shooting fireworks.

Police Chief Brian O’Hara said during a news conference that the gathering was an unlawful assembly and “people need to leave.”

Things later quietened down and by early Thursday only a few demonstrators and law enforcement officers remained at the scene.

Demonstrations have become common on the streets of Minneapolis since the ICE agent fatally shot 37-year-old Good on Jan. 7. Agents have yanked people from their cars and homes, and have been confronted by angry bystanders demanding that the officers pack up and leave.

Minneapolis Mayor Jacob Frey described the situation as not “sustainable.”

“This is an impossible situation that our city is presently being put in and at the same time we are trying to find a way forward to keep people safe, to protect our neighbors, to maintain order,” he said.

Frey said the federal force — five times the size of the city’s 600-officer police force — has “invaded” Minneapolis, scaring and angering residents.

In a statement describing the events that led to Wednesday's shooting, Homeland Security said federal law enforcement officers stopped a driver from Venezuela who is in the U.S. illegally. The person drove away and crashed into a parked car before taking off on foot, DHS said.

After officers reached the person, two other people arrived from a nearby apartment and all three started attacking the officer, according to DHS.

“Fearing for his life and safety as he was being ambushed by three individuals, the officer fired a defensive shot to defend his life,” DHS said.

The two people who came out of the apartment are in custody, it said.

O’Hara said the man shot was in the hospital with a non-life-threatening injury.

The shooting took place about 4.5 miles (7.2 kilometers) north of where Good was killed. O’Hara's account of what happened largely echoed that of Homeland Security.

During a speech before the latest shooting, Walz described Minnesota as being in chaos, saying what's happening in the state “defies belief.”

“Let’s be very, very clear, this long ago stopped being a matter of immigration enforcement,” he said. “Instead, it’s a campaign of organized brutality against the people of Minnesota by our own federal government.”

Jonathan Ross, the Immigration and Customs Enforcement officer who killed Good, suffered internal bleeding to his torso during the encounter, a Homeland Security official told The Associated Press.

The official spoke to AP on condition of anonymity in order to discuss Ross’ medical condition. The official did not provide details about the severity of the injuries, and the agency did not respond to questions about the extent of the bleeding, exactly how he suffered the injury, when it was diagnosed or his medical treatment.

Good was killed after three ICE officers surrounded her SUV on a snowy street a few blocks from her home.

Bystander video shows one officer ordering Good to open the door and grabbing the handle. As the vehicle begins to move forward, Ross, standing in front, raises his weapon and fires at least three shots at close range. He steps back as the SUV advances and turns.

Homeland Security Secretary Kristi Noem has said Ross was struck by the vehicle and that Good was using her SUV as a weapon — a self-defense claim that has been criticized by Minnesota officials.

Chris Madel, an attorney for Ross, declined to comment.

Good’s family has hired the same law firm that represented George Floyd’s family in a $27 million settlement with Minneapolis. Floyd, who was Black, died after a white police officer pinned his neck to the ground in the street in May 2020.

Madhani reported from Washington, D.C. Associated Press reporters Julie Watson in San Diego; Rebecca Santana in Washington; Ed White in Detroit and Giovanna Dell’Orto in Minneapolis contributed.

A protester yells in front of law enforcement after a shooting on Wednesday, Jan. 14, 2026, in Minneapolis. (AP Photo/John Locher)

Tear gas surrounds federal law enforcement officers as they leave a scene after a shooting on Wednesday, Jan. 14, 2026, in Minneapolis. (AP Photo/John Locher)

Protesters shout at law enforcement officers after a shooting on Wednesday, Jan. 14, 2026, in Minneapolis. (AP Photo/Abbie Parr)

Law enforcement officers stand amid tear gas at the scene of a reported shooting Wednesday, Jan. 14, 2026, in Minneapolis. (AP Photo/Adam Gray)