{
  "id": 4593972,
  "title": "Sofia Kenin beats wildcard Venus Williams in late-night US Open encounter",
  "url": "https://urgent.news/2026/08/31/sofia-kenin-beats-wildcard-venus-williams-in-late-night-us-open",
  "topic": "culture",
  "section": "Culture",
  "published": "2026-08-31T07:28:56.000Z",
  "source": {
    "name": "Yahoo Sports",
    "slug": "yahoo-sports",
    "url": "https://sports.yahoo.com/articles/sofia-kenin-beats-wildcard-venus-072856755.html"
  },
  "original_language": "en",
  "account": "In a thrilling US Open first-round match that commenced at 12:13am on Monday, American tennis star Sofia Kenin clinched a hard-fought victory over wildcard entrant Venus Williams with a score of 6-2, 7-6(6). This late-night encounter holds the distinction of being the latest start in women's tennis tournament history. Kenin, the 2020 Australian Open champion, will advance to face the top-ranked American player, Jessica Pegula. The match at Arthur Ashe Stadium was sparked by Novak Djokovic's five-set defeat by Mariano Navone, and a sizeable portion of the audience remained in attendance well past midnight to catch a glimpse of Williams, who was making her 96th career Grand Slam main draw appearance as a wild card.\n\nKenin broke serve early in the first set, gaining a commanding 3-0 lead. Both competitors were initially struggling to find their rhythm, resulting in a combined total of nine double faults. Williams managed to break back to love, narrowing the deficit to 3-1, but Kenin soon regained control, extending the set to 3-1. In the second set, Kenin showcased her dominance, winning three consecutive games and leading 3-1. Although Williams exhibited glimpses of her prowess that earned her seven Grand Slam titles, she faltered in maintaining consistent point construction, with her second serve being a particular weakness. Kenin saved four break points to tie the set at 5-5, forcing Williams into frustration with unforced errors. However, Williams managed to hold serve, eventually reaching 6-5. Kenin then forced a decisive tiebreak, where Williams failed to convert any of her seven set points, ultimately falling short in Kenin's 6-5 win.",
  "summary": "The first-round match began at 12.13am, the latest start for a women’s match in tournament history",
  "key_points": [],
  "editors_take": null,
  "illustration": null,
  "coverage": {
    "outlets": 2,
    "also_reported_by": [
      {
        "outlet": "Yahoo Sports",
        "title": "U.S. Open first day schedule, matchups with Venus Williams as wild card",
        "url": "https://urgent.news/2026/08/30/u-s-open-first-day-schedule-matchups-with-venus-williams-as-wild-card",
        "published": "2026-08-30T03:48:04.000Z"
      }
    ]
  },
  "ai_generated": true,
  "disclaimer": "Summaries, key points and the editor’s take are written by software from other outlets’ reporting and may contain errors — always check the linked original."
}