Venus Williams' sad announcement after US Open farewell with Serena

Venus Williams has made a sad admission about her own career, in the wake of little sister Serena's tearful farewell from the sport.

Serena choked back tears in an emotional tribute to her big sister after a third round US Open loss to Australia's Ajla Tomljanovic, in what's largely expected to be the final match of her grand slam career.

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The two sisters also made history in New York after teaming up to join Linda Noskova and Lucie Hradecka as the first women’s doubles players in US Open history to feature on centre court in a night session.

In what was almost certainly the last time the Williams sister grace a court together, US Open officials gave the American greats top billing by scheduling them on Arthur Ashe Stadium.

Unfortunately for the sisters it was no fairytale farewell as they lost 7-6 (7-5) 6-4 to the Czech pair.

Speaking in the wake of those emotional scenes at Flushing Meadows, Venus has since admitted that it is probably the last doubles match of her storied career.

"I think I'm retired from doubles now," Venus told fans.

Venus posted a series of stories on Instagram to open up on her personal life and shed light on her future plans with fans during an interactive social media session.

The 42-year-old admitted that she was devastated to see her sister's career come to an end but said she hoped to keep Serena as a hitting partner in the future.

"Unimaginable at first. But I have had time to prepare myself. I'm sure she will still hit with me," she wrote.

Venus stressed that while she has all but ruled out doubles for the future, she still has plans to compete in singles events on the WTA Tour.

However, the seven-time major winner says the immediate priority is to take a break from the sport and spend time with family and friends for the rest of the year.

"No plans for this year. But watch out for next year," she wrote.

"Work on my game. Spend time with the family. Time with my teams. And time at home. It's been a while," Venus added.

Venus and Serena Williams' epic doubles career

Venus and Serena won 14 grand slam doubles titles together, but their combination at this year's US Open was the first time the sisters had teamed up since the French Open in 2018.

It is also the first time a women's doubles match had been scheduled in the night session in the 141-year history of the US Open.

“It was Serena’s idea. She’s the boss,” Venus said about the decision to play doubles in New York.

While Serena's plans to "evolve" away from professional tennis after the US Open are well documented, sister Venus has remained somewhat coy about her future.

The sisters won women's doubles championships at the US Open in 1999 - the year Serena won her first major singles title in New York at age 17 - and 2009.

They also have six grand slam doubles titles at Wimbledon, four at the Australian Open and two at the French Open.

Their most recent grand slam title came at Wimbledon in 2016, and they remain unbeaten in women's grand slam doubles finals at 14-0.

They've also won three doubles gold medals together at the Olympics and a combined 30 grand slam singles titles - 23 for Serena and seven for Venus.

Just last week, Serena teased fans about a potential Tom Brady-style retirement backflip during a pair of appearances on American chat shows.

During an interview on ABC's "Good Morning America", the 23-times grand slam singles champion didn't rule out taking a page from seven-times Super Bowl winner Brady's playbook.

"I've just been saying that I think Tom Brady started a really cool trend," said a grinning Williams, who made a similar comment during a Tuesday appearance on NBC's "The Tonight Show Starring Jimmy Fallon".

Brady, who like Williams established himself as one of the greatest in his sport, retired from the NFL in February but six weeks later reversed that decision and said he would return to the Tampa Bay Buccaneers for a 23rd season.

Williams, who attended the Michael Kors fashion show in New York last week, announced her intention to retire from tennis in a Vogue essay last month.

While she did not confirm the US Open as her farewell event, she was given lavish tributes before each match in New York and waved an emotional goodbye after losing in the third round.

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