NEW YORK (AP) — Venus Williams is into the U.S. Open women’s doubles quarterfinals with Leylah Fernandez and now wants her old partner to come back. She says it's time for Serena Williams to come see a match.
Williams made the plea for her younger sister to show up after she and Fernandez beat the 12th-seeded duo of Ekaterina Alexandrova and Zhang Shuai 6-3, 6-4 in their third-round match Monday in front of a capacity crowd at Louis Armstrong Stadium.
“She’s so happy for Leylah and I, and she’s given us advice,” Williams said. “We just need her in the box. So, my message is, ‘Serena, you need to show up.’”
Williams and Fernandez will play Tuesday against the top-seeded team of Taylor Townsend and Katerina Siniakova.
The Williams sisters won 14 major championships together. Even if Serena chooses not to attend, she's definitely watching.
“She gave me a pep talk and made sure to call me today. I was, like, ‘You’re right. I got it. I got it,’” Venus said.
“She’s definitely coaching from afar. She’s so excited. She gets so nervous watching, and she’s got the kids watching. They're all at home, just really on our side.”
Venus said she was sent a video of her two nieces watching the match and yelling her name.
Williams and Fernandez had not played together until last week, when they received a wild-card entry into the field at the Grand Slam tournament. They are now 3-0 and have not lost a set in the process.
"We’re on the same wavelength, and hopefully we can keep it going," Williams said.
With the stands packed at Armstrong and a wait to get in to see Williams and Fernandez, the 45-year-old American and 22-year-old Canadian needed just an hour and 14 minutes to move on.
“I have full confidence in Venus, and I hope she has full confidence in me during our match,” Fernandez said. “We’re just going out there, playing our game: Be offensive, aggressive and ready for the ball.”
Venus has called Fernandez her best partner other than Serena. She joked that Serena didn't have any advice for Fernandez, the 2021 U.S. Open runner-up in singles.
“So I guess you’re playing perfect,” Williams said to her partner during their press conference.
Serena hasn't played since the 2022 U.S. Open. If she does return to Flushing Meadows, it sounds as if Venus would expect her to bring a racket.
“If she came, it would be a dream for both of us and we’d have her on the court coaching.,” Venus said. “We’d force her to hit, even though she doesn’t hit often. It’s probably best she doesn’t come because we’d probably bully her.”
AP tennis: https://apnews.com/hub/tennis
Venus Williams, of the United States, reacts with partner Leylah Fernandez, of Canada, during a third-round doubles match of the U.S. Open tennis championships, Monday, Sept. 1, 2025, in New York. (AP Photo/Heather Khalifa)
Leylah Fernandez, of Canada, serves with partner Venus Williams, of the United States, during a third-round doubles match of the U.S. Open tennis championships, Monday, Sept. 1, 2025, in New York. (AP Photo/Heather Khalifa)
Venus Williams, of the United States, reacts with partner Leylah Fernandez, of Canada, during a third-round doubles match of the U.S. Open tennis championships, Monday, Sept. 1, 2025, in New York. (AP Photo/Heather Khalifa)
BERLIN (AP) — Europeans were reeling Sunday from U.S. President Donald Trump's announcement that eight countries will face 10% tariff for opposing American control of Greenland.
The responses to Trump's decision on Saturday ranged from saying it risked “a dangerous downward spiral” to predicting that “China and Russia must be having a field day.”
Trump's threat sets up a potentially dangerous test of U.S. partnerships in Europe. Several European countries have sent troops to Greenland in recent days, saying they are there for Arctic security training. Trump's announcement came Saturday as thousands of Greenlanders were wrapping up a protest outside the U.S. Consulate in the capital, Nuuk.
The Republican president appeared to indicate that he was using the tariffs as leverage to force talks with Denmark and other European countries over the status of Greenland, a semiautonomous territory of NATO ally Denmark that he regards as critical to U.S. national security. Denmark, Norway, Sweden, France, Germany, the United Kingdom, the Netherlands and Finland would face the tariff.
There are immediate questions about how the White House could try to implement the tariffs because the EU is a single economic zone in terms of trading, according to a European diplomat who was not authorized to comment publicly and spoke on the condition of anonymity. It was unclear, too, how Trump could act under U.S. law, though he could cite emergency economic powers that are currently subject to a U.S. Supreme Court challenge.
European Union foreign policy chief Kaja Kallas said China and Russia will benefit from the divisions between the U.S. and the Europe. She added in a post on social media: “If Greenland’s security is at risk, we can address this inside NATO. Tariffs risk making Europe and the United States poorer and undermine our shared prosperity."
Trump's move also was panned domestically.
U.S. Sen. Mark Kelly, a former U.S. Navy pilot and Democrat who represents Arizona, posted that Trump’s threatened tariffs on U.S. allies would make Americans “pay more to try to get territory we don’t need.”
“Troops from European countries are arriving in Greenland to defend the territory from us. Let that sink in,” he wrote on social media. “The damage this President is doing to our reputation and our relationships is growing, making us less safe. If something doesn’t change we will be on our own with adversaries and enemies in every direction.”
Norway and the U.K. are not part of the 27-member EU, which operates as a single economic zone in terms of trading. It was not immediately clear if Trump's tariffs would impact the entire bloc. EU envoys scheduled emergency talks for Sunday evening to determine a potential response.
António Costa, president of the European Council, and Ursula von der Leyen, president of the European Commission, pledged to continue their full solidarity with Denmark and Greenland.
“Tariffs would undermine transatlantic relations and risk a dangerous downward spiral. Europe will remain united, coordinated, and committed to upholding its sovereignty,” they wrote in a joint statement late Saturday.
Jordan Bardella, president of Marine Le Pen’s far-right National Rally party in France and also a European Parliament lawmaker, posted that the EU should suspend last year's tariff deal with the U.S., describing Trump’s threats as “commercial blackmail.”
The foreign ministers of Denmark and Norway are also expected to address the crisis Sunday in Oslo during a news conference.
__
Leicester reported from Paris and Cook from Brussels. Associated Press writer Josh Boak in West Palm Beach, Florida, contributed to this report.
A crowd walks to the US consulate to protest against Trump's policy towards Greenland in Nuuk, Greenland, Saturday, Jan. 17, 2026. (AP Photo/Evgeniy Maloletka)
A boy holds a crossed out map of Greenland topped by a hairpiece symbolizing U.S. President Donald Trump, during a protest against Trump's policy towards Greenland in front of the US consulate in Nuuk, Greenland, Saturday, Jan. 17, 2026. (AP Photo/Evgeniy Maloletka)
People protest against Trump's policy towards Greenland in front of the US consulate in Nuuk, Greenland, Saturday, Jan. 17, 2026. (AP Photo/Evgeniy Maloletka)
