Serena Williams is fresh off her mixed doubles run with Carlos Alcaraz and looks ready for more at her home Grand Slam. The 23-time Grand Slam champion recently shared a fun behind-the-scenes moment from the US Open. On her Instagram Story, Williams posted a photo with Canadian star Leylah Fernandez after a joint practice session.
Serena Williams and Leylah Fernandez Pose Together After Practice Ahead of US Open
The photo showed both smiling on the hard court in their practice gear after the session. Williams kept her caption simple “All smiles after practice 🎾✨”.
Serena and Leylah 💙🩵 pic.twitter.com/LYr3MM0IO1
— Serena’s snatched wig (@Danidilo2) August 27, 2026
Fernandez, who reached the US Open singles final in 2021, also looked happy to share the court with the 23-time Grand Slam winner. The Canadian also reposted Williams’s Story.
Notably, Fernandez has also teamed up with Serena’s sister and seven-time Grand Slam champion Venus Williams at two tournaments. They played together at last year’s US Open and reached the quarterfinals. The Canadian-American pair reunited at the Miami Open in March but lost in the first round.
Last month, on the “Served with Andy Roddick” podcast, Fernandez jokingly said that playing with Serena at the US Open would feel like betraying her former partner, Venus. However, she has great respect for both Williams sisters.
Fernandez was also set to play mixed doubles with Frances Tiafoe, but his withdrawal canceled their matchup against Novak Djokovic and Aryna Sabalenka. In singles, she will face Zhang Shuai in the first round.
Serena returned to the court this year, playing doubles at Queen’s in June and later playing singles at Wimbledon, but a knee injury forced her to miss the women’s doubles event, where she was due to partner Venus.
However, the sisters reunited at the Cincinnati Open earlier this month, four years after their appearance together at the 2022 US Open, which was Serena’s final tournament before stepping away from tennis. They lost their Cincinnati match in three sets to Marta Kostyuk and Peyton Stearns.
In mixed doubles, Serena also teamed up with seven-time Grand Slam champion Carlos Alcaraz, winning their opening match before losing in the quarterfinals.
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The 44-year-old is now set to play women’s doubles at the US Open alongside Venus after receiving a wildcard from the USTA, marking their first Grand Slam appearance together in four years. Venus, 46, will also compete in the singles main draw after receiving a wildcard.
The duo has won 14 Grand Slam doubles titles together, with their most recent coming at Wimbledon in 2016. They have never lost a Grand Slam doubles final and are expected to begin their US Open campaign on either Thursday, September 3, or Friday, September 4.
