U.S. Open Criticized For Not Punishing Venus, Serena Williams

Venus and Serena Williams played women's doubles at the U.S. Open for the first time since 2022 on Friday night. The legendary tennis sisters lost in an epic three-set match at Arthur Ashe Stadium. But, after millions watched their match on TV, with 20,000 or so in attendance in Queens, the Williams sisters darted out of the facilities and skipped out on media obligations. Players who compete in Grand Slam matches are typically required to participate in post-match press conferences. TV networks pay billions of dollars a year for sports rights. The U.S. Open announced: 'Serena and Venus Williams will not be available for press tonight.' Tennis reporters were bothered, though unsurprised. 'Deeply unsurprising,' Ben Rothenberg shared. From the U.S. Open:'Serena and Venus Williams will not be available for press tonight.'Deeply unsurprising. Athletes will often face punishment, typically in the form of fines, when they skip out on media obligations. But the U.S. Open will NOT be fining either Williams sister. 'Serena and Venus Williams will NOT be fined for missing press on Friday night – and the USTA were not notified of any injury reason for skipping their obligations,' James Gray reported. Serena and Venus Williams will NOT be fined for missing press on Friday night – and the USTA were not notified of any injury reason for skipping their obligations.#USOpen If you have a rule, you shouldn't be allowed to pick and choose when you enforce it. 'Serena and Venus Williams (American passport) will NOT get fined for missing press conference (after purposely missing it at Wimbledon too) at Us Open. Novak Djokovic (Serbian passport) GOT fined for missing press conference after being disqualified in 2020,' one fan noted. 'Would love to know the itty bitty details of their player contract. Alas… don't think that's going to happen,' one fan added. 'I really don't care that they bagged the after-match presser, but if that's a rule, they need to show up for the people that want to hear their gibberish. I'll just change the channel. Fine them,' one fan added. 'Hate to say this but the US Open is the biggie- the final grand slam of 2026. Procedures have been set in place which all players know about and obviously have agreed to. I feel letting Venus and Serena participate should not discount them from following those procedures,' one fan added. Should they have been fined? This article first appeared on The Spun and was syndicated with permission.