NEW YORK (AP) — Serena Williams is getting back on the court against Maya Joint — this time with sister Venus by her side.
The Williams sisters were drawn Tuesday to face the team of Hao-Ching Chan and Joint, who beat Serena at Wimbledon this summer, in their opening women's doubles match at the U.S. Open.
Serena Williams, 44, returned this year after four years out of action and lost to Joint, a 20-year-old from Australia, 6-3, 6-7 (6), 6-3. She injured her knee in the match and had to pull out of her planned doubles match at the All England Club with Venus, 46.
But they are set to compete at the U.S. Open, where the Williams sisters won the title in 1999 and 2009 and are 27-7 in their nine appearances. They last played in 2022, losing in the first round in what was expected to be Serena’s final match in Flushing Meadows.
Joint and Chan are the No. 14-seeded team.
The first round of the women’s doubles tournament begins Thursday.
See AP’s full tennis coverage here
Serena Williams, of the United States, returns the ball during a mixed doubles match at the U.S. Open tennis championships, Tuesday, Aug. 25, 2026, in New York. (AP Photo/Yuki Iwamura)
Serena Williams, of the United States, reacts during a mixed doubles match at the U.S. Open tennis championships, Tuesday, Aug. 25, 2026, in New York. (AP Photo/Yuki Iwamura)
PROVO, Utah (AP) — The murder case against the Utah man accused of assassinating conservative activist Charlie Kirk last year is headed for trial, and the defendant could face the death penalty if he’s convicted.
Utah District Judge Tony Graf on Tuesday sided with prosecutors who said they had “overwhelming” evidence that suspect Tyler Robinson shot Kirk once in the neck as the ally of President Donald Trump spoke to a crowd of thousands last September in Orem, Utah.
Robinson’s lawyers tried to block a trial, arguing that prosecutors failed to give enough evidence to show Kirk’s shooting endangered people around him. That’s an aggravating factor under the law that makes Robinson eligible for the death penalty.
Prosecutors said Robinson shot Kirk from a rooftop more than 400 feet (122 meters) away and could have easily missed, injuring or killing other people.
A key factor in charging aggravated murder is whether the shooter knowingly created a risk of death to anyone else as he carried out the killing.
Graf had the option to send the case to trial on a lesser charge of murder, which carries a minimum sentence of 15 years and a maximum of life in prison, said Steve Burton, director of the Utah Defense Attorney Association. The judge said his decision was based on “the documented position of several individuals in and around the canopy area” where Kirk was speaking, among other factors.
“These circumstances support a reasonable inference that defendant was aware that other individuals were positioned near Mr. Kirk when he fired,” the judge said.
The hearing Tuesday in state court came after prosecutors in July spent five days presenting what they said was “overwhelming” evidence that Tyler Robinson killed the conservative activist while he was speaking at an open-air event on a college campus.
The 23-year-old defendant turned himself in a day after the shooting at Utah Valley University last September. He has not yet entered a plea, and his lawyers have not offered alternative theories for Kirk’s death. They focused instead on blocking the case from proceeding to trial and trying to get the death penalty taken off the table.
Kirk’s parents, Robert and Kathryn Kirk, entered the heavily secured facility arm in arm before the hearing at the Fourth Judicial District Courthouse in Provo. Erika Kirk was seated beside them. The family stepped out during part of a prosecutor's argument that described the shooting.
A few local members of Kirk’s organization, Turning Point USA, arrived with signs expressing their support for Erika Kirk but were told by security that they could not have them on the court property.
Robinson had no visible reaction to the arguments. His mother, Amber Robinson, watched from the courtroom gallery and his father, Matt Robinson, listened with his head bowed.
A “mountain of evidence” shows that Robinson was the killer, including DNA, messages with his romantic partner and posts Robinson made on the communications platform Discord, McBride said.
One of Robinson's attorneys, Staci Visser, argued that the state was trying to “shoehorn” the case into Utah's aggravated murder statute. Prior case law requires prosecutors to show that there was a high probability — not merely a possibility — that other people could have been killed, she said.
Kirk was seated on a stage in an elevated position, not immediately near anyone else, when he was shot from a rooftop more than 400 feet (122 meters) away, she noted.
“There is one shot. There is one bullet. There is one victim,” Visser said. “There is zero evidence that there was any action taken towards other people.”
The judge said he would rule from the bench at 5 p.m. local time.
Robinson also faces potential sentencing enhancements if prosecutors can show he targeted Kirk for his political beliefs.
Before his death, Kirk and the organization he co-founded, Turning Point USA, galvanized the conservative youth vote to help President Donald Trump win a second term.
Prosecutors have argued that an engraved bullet found in the suspected murder weapon shows that Kirk was targeted for how the defendant perceived his politics. The inscription “Hey Facist! CATCH!” is an “overt political reference,” they argued in court documents.
A handwritten note that prosecutors allege Robinson left for his romantic partner read in part, “I had the opportunity to take out Charlie Kirk, and I took it.” They also allege Robinson wrote in a text message about Kirk: “I had enough of his hatred. Some hate can’t be negotiated out.”
Robinson’s attorneys have argued that prosecutors do not have strong enough evidence to prove a political motivation.
In July, investigators presented DNA analyses that they said linked Robinson to the suspected murder weapon — a bolt-action rifle with one spent round — and a tool he allegedly used to engrave the bullet cartridges.
Robinson's reported romantic partner, Lance Twiggs, told investigators in a recorded interview that Robinson said the day after Kirk was killed that “he wishes he hadn’t done it.” Later that same day — and only about an hour before turning himself in — Robinson posted “it was me at UVU yesterday” in an online chat room, according to investigators.
Defense attorneys challenged the reliability of DNA tests and unsuccessfully fought against the public release of the Twiggs interview, warning prosecutors would characterize it as a confession. Twiggs said in the interview that he never heard Robinson talk about Kirk before the shooting.
Johnson reported from Seattle. Associated Press writer Matthew Brown in Billings, Montana, contributed.
Attorney Jeffrey Hunt speaks with 4th District Court Judge Tony Graf during a preliminary hearing for Tyler Robinson, the Utah man accused of fatally shooting Charlie Kirk, in 4th District Court in Provo, Utah, Tuesday, Sept. 1, 2026. (Francisco Kjolseth/The Salt Lake Tribune via AP, Pool)
Tyler Robinson, left, charged in the fatal shooting of Charlie Kirk, speaks with defense attorney Staci Visser as he attends a preliminary hearing in 4th District Court in Provo, Utah, Tuesday, Sept. 1, 2026. (Francisco Kjolseth/The Salt Lake Tribune via AP, Pool)
In this photo taken with a smartphone, people gather outside the Fourth Judicial District Courthouse in Provo, Utah, before a key hearing for Tyler Robinson, who is accused in the fatal shooting of Charlie Kirk, Tuesday, Sept. 1, 2026. (AP Photo/Hannah Schoenbaum)
FILE - Charlie Kirk's parents, Robert and Kathryn Kirk, arrive at the Fourth District Courthouse for a hearing for Tyler Robinson, who is accused of fatally shooting Charlie Kirk, July 6, 2026, in Provo, Utah. (AP Photo/Marielle Scott, File)
FILE - An image of a bullet casing engraved with the words, "Hey Fascist!" is displayed during a preliminary hearing for Tyler Robinson, who is accused in the fatal shooting of Charlie Kirk, at the Fourth District Courthouse in Provo, Utah, July 9, 2026. (AP Photo/Spenser Heaps, Pool, File)
FILE - Erika Kirk leaves the Fourth District Courthouse, July 6, 2026, in Provo, Utah, after a hearing for Tyler Robinson, who is accused in the fatal shooting of Charlie Kirk. (AP Photo/Marielle Scott, File)
FILE - A photo of Charlie Kirk, the CEO and co-founder of Turning Point USA, stands at his vigil on Sept. 11, 2025, in Orem, Utah. (AP Photo/Lindsey Wasson, File)
FILE - Tyler Robinson, who is accused of fatally shooting Charlie Kirk, sits beside defense attorney Kathryn Nester during a hearing in 4th District Court in Provo, Utah, on Jan. 16, 2026. (Bethany Baker/The Salt Lake Tribune via AP, File)
