Venus Williams is on a Cinderella run at the 2025 US Open, but her famous sister hasn’t been there to see it in person. 

Williams and her doubles partner, Leylah Fernandez, advanced to the quarterfinals in front of a raucous crowd inside Louis Armstrong Stadium on Monday, September 1. 

The unranked team of Williams, 45, and Fernandez, 22, will play the top seeds, Taylor Townsend and Kateřina Siniaková, on Tuesday, September 2. 

After the win on Monday, Venus addressed the absence of her sister Serena Williams throughout the tournament. 

“She’s so happy for Leylah and I and she’s given us advice,” Williams said during an on-court interview with ESPN. “We just need her in the [player’s] box. My message is: Serena, you need to show up.”

Venus and Serena, 43, won a combined total of 14 Grand Slam women’s doubles titles together during their time together on the WTA Tour. 

Serena hasn’t played a professional tennis match since the 2022 US Open. In August of that year, she announced it was time to “move on from playing tennis.”

While she hasn’t been in attendance in New York City to watch her older sister in action, Serena has been watching from home. 

“When you see your sister @Venus Williams has a new doubles partner @leylahanniefernandez and you are really happy she’s winning with someone else…” Serena posted via TikTok on Sunday, August 31. 

The message was accompanied by a video of Serena jokingly forcing a smile, indicating it hasn’t been easy for the 23-time major champion to see Venus find success with a new partner.

After Venus and Fernandez won their opening round match on Thursday, August 28, Venus joked she “wasn’t very good at doubles.”

“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 of her partnership with Fernandez. “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.”

Venus also put up a valiant fight during her first round singles match against Karolina Muchová on August 25 — losing 6-3, 2-6, 6-1 — which earned the admiration of Serena.

“Strength, courage, determination, class, perseverance, inspiration…there’s not enough words to describe how proud I am of you @VenusWilliams,” Serena wrote via Instagram. “P.S. I hope to be like you.”