The dream was alive. Five-zero up in the deciding tiebreaker, Arthur Ashe Stadium shaking with noise, the Williams sisters doing what they’ve done for decades.

Then it died, point by agonising point, as Chan Hao-ching and Maya Joint staged one of the gutsiest fightbacks you’ll ever witness, reeling off 10 of the final 12 points to claim a 6-3, 6-7 (6/8), 7-6 (10/7) victory that ended the superstar siblings’ US Open doubles return in heartbreaking fashion.

Five-zero. Five points from victory. Five points from extending their legendary partnership for at least one more round at the Grand Slam where they’ve claimed two of their 14 doubles titles.

Instead, they watched helplessly as momentum shifted, confidence wavered, and opponents who refused to surrender claimed one of the biggest wins of their careers.

The return nobody wanted to end

Venus, 46, and Serena, 44, hadn’t played Grand Slam doubles together since the 2022 US Open, a four-year gap that made Friday’s appearance feel less like routine scheduling and more like borrowed time with legends who’ve given tennis so much.

They last won a title together at Roland Garros in 2018, but time hasn’t dimmed their ability to produce moments that remind everyone why they’re considered the greatest doubles partnership in women’s tennis history.

They showed flashes of their brilliant best on Friday, Serena proving particularly dangerous patrolling the net whilst Venus controlled proceedings from the baseline. But Serena struggled with her serve throughout, gifting opportunities that Chan and Joint gratefully accepted.

The opening set went to the Asian pairing 6-3, the Williams sisters looking rusty in their first Grand Slam doubles appearance in four years.

Twenty winners and roaring comebacks

The sisters belted 20 winners in the second set alone.

They held serve throughout, building momentum with each game whilst the Ashe Stadium crowd grew increasingly fevered. When Joint smacked an overhead long to hand the Williams the set in a tiebreaker, the roar suggested something special was brewing.

Level at one set apiece. The dream alive. The fairytale comeback gathering steam.

So close, yet so far

Chan and Joint regrouped brilliantly to seize a 4-2 lead in the deciding set, seemingly positioned to close out victory without the drama of another tiebreaker.

But the Williams sisters rallied forcing the 10-point decider that would determine whether this magical return continued or ended in tears.

And what a start to that tiebreaker. Five straight points. The crowd absolutely losing its mind.

Five-zero became five-one. Then five-two. Suddenly five-three. The momentum shifting almost imperceptibly at first, then undeniably as Chan and Joint found answers whilst the Williams sisters couldn’t land crucial points.

Five-four. Five-five. The impossible comeback suddenly very possible.

Taiwan’s Chan and Joint fought back superbly, their composure under suffocating pressure remarkable given they were attempting to deny tennis royalty on the sport’s biggest stage.

When the final point was won, the scoreboard read 10-7 in the tiebreaker. Chan and Joint had claimed 10 of the final 12 points after trailing 5-0, completing a comeback that will define their careers whilst ending the Williams fairytale before it truly began.

Serena’s return to Flushing Meadows

For Serena Williams, the 23-time Grand Slam singles champion considered by many to be tennis’s greatest women’s player, Friday marked her first return to Flushing Meadows since “evolving away” from the game.

The 44-year-old had already tested the comeback waters with a Wimbledon wild card appearance where she lost to Joint in a Centre Court clash that captured imaginations worldwide.

Even that experience didn’t prepare Joint for the atmosphere inside the cavernous Ashe Stadium on Friday night.

The sisters received a thunderous ovation when they took court, all business in understated white outfits that let their tennis do the talking. Every blistering volley and overhead smash received raucous cheers. When they sprinted to that 5-0 tiebreaker lead, the noise was absolutely deafening.

“The atmosphere was surreal,” Joint admitted afterwards, still processing what she’d just achieved. “Being able to play against such legends of the game is super special.”

The ending nobody wanted

Five-zero up. Five points from victory. Five points from keeping the dream alive.

The Williams sisters have come back from worse. They’ve won from more desperate positions. They’ve delivered miracles when logic suggested impossibility.

But Friday wasn’t their night. Chan and Joint refused to surrender, fought back from the brink with remarkable composure, and claimed a victory that ends this chapter of the Williams story.