Serena and Venus Williams have won 14 doubles titles together but the sisters will make a different type of history Thursday.
Tonight’s US Open match will be the first time a first-round doubles match will be held at Arthur Ashe Stadium.
The Williams sisters will face Czech duo Lucie Hradecka and Linda Noskova at 7 p.m.
Serena, 40, announced her plans to retire from the sport in August.
She was victorious in the first two rounds of the singles tournament, including a three-set win over Anett Konaveit on Wednesday.
Venus, 42, lost in the first round in straight sets to Alison Van Uytvanck.
The Williams sisters won the US Open doubles championship in 1999 and 2009. Thursday will be the first time they play together in Flushing since 2014.
Serena Williams, right, serves while playing a doubles match with her sister Venus Williams in the second round of play at the 2012 US Open tennis tournament, Wednesday, Aug. 29, 2012, in New York.APTheir 14 titles are tied for second-most for women’s doubles championships in the Open Era with the Natasha Zvereva/Gigi Fernandez team from the 1990s.
Martina Navratilova and Pam Shriver won 20 in the 1980s.
Serena Williams, left, of the United States, watches as her sister Venus returns a shot to Alisa Kleybanova, of Russia, and Ekaterina Makarova, of Russia, during their doubles match at the U.S. Open tennis tournament in New York, Thursday, Sept. 10, 2009. AP
