Tennis legend\u00a0Venus Williams and young Canadian star Leylah Fernandez<\/a> had not played together until last week, when they\u00a0received a wild-card entry\u00a0into the field at the Grand Slam tournament.\u00a0<\/p>\n They are now 3-0 \u2014 having\u00a0not lost a set in the process\u00a0\u2014\u00a0and are set to play in the quarterfinals today.<\/p>\n On social media,\u00a0fans have called them “the dream team we did not expect but we deserve.”<\/p>\n “It’s a feel-good story,” Tom Tebbutt, a tennis journalist\u00a0based in Toronto and member of the Canadian\u00a0Tennis Hall of Fame, told\u00a0CBC News.<\/p>\n There’s the 23-year age difference, Tebbutt noted, and their height difference, with Fernandez being 5-6 and Williams towering over her at 6-1.<\/p>\n But on top of that, there’s the fact that Williams\u00a0has 14 Grand Slam doubles titles with her sister, Serena, and has been competing at the U.S. Open for nearly three decades.<\/a>\u00a0Fernandez, who hails from Laval, Que., is by comparison, at least, relatively new to the the U.S. Open after her storybook breakout in 2021<\/a>.<\/p>\n “It’s just a great juxtaposition of players at opposite ends of their careers,” Tebbutt said. “As players, Venus still has lots of power, especially on the forehand side, and Leylah is an eager jitterbug covering a lot of court with loads of moxie.”<\/p>\n WATCH | Williams and Fernandez become tennis’s most-hyped pair:\u00a0 Venus Williams and Canadian Leylah Fernandez become tennis\u2019s most-hyped pair<\/p>\n Tennis fans have been surprised and delighted by the unexpected partnership between legend Venus Williams and young Canadian star Leylah Fernandez at the U.S. Open. ‘Just a lot of drama’<\/p>\n Williams and Fernandez will play today\u00a0against the top-seeded team of\u00a0Taylor Townsend\u00a0and Katerina Siniakova.<\/p>\n Townsend, you may recall, was recently in the news courtesy of a heated argument with\u00a0opponent\u00a0Jelena Ostapenko, where a spar at the net about tennis\u00a0etiquette quickly escalated into a post-match\u00a0online uproar that\u00a0included allegations of racism<\/a>.<\/p>\n Ostapenko has since apologized<\/a> for saying Townsend had “no education,” but the exchange was just one of many dramatic moments marring this year’s tournament<\/a>.<\/p>\n There was, of course,\u00a0Daniil Medvedev’s meltdown<\/a>\u00a0after a photographer wandered onto the court during his match.\u00a0Medvedev\u00a0launched a tirade at the official, who announced his opponent would get another first serve because of the delay, before orchestrating a chorus of boos from the stands and, finally, smashing his racket.<\/p>\n This netted Medvedev\u00a0a\u00a0$42,500\u00a0fine from\u00a0the U.S. Open\u00a0for unsportsmanlike conduct and racket abuse.<\/p>\n And there was a tense conversation over grunting\u00a0\u2014\u00a0yes, grunting\u00a0\u2014\u00a0on Saturday, when Jaume Munar\u00a0took\u00a0issue with\u00a0Zizou Bergs’s noises during their match<\/a>.\u00a0Also on Saturday, Sorana Cirstea said the trophy she received after winning a recent women’s tournament was stolen from her New York hotel room<\/a> while she was playing.<\/p>\n On Thursday, another net encounter went badly when the match’s loser, two-time Slam finalist Stefanos Tsitsipas, let the winner, Daniel Altmaier, know he hadn’t appreciated an underarm serve \u2014 which is allowed.<\/p>\n WATCH | CEO apologizes for taking hat\u00a0from from boy:\u00a0 CEO apologizes for taking hat from boy at U.S. Open<\/p>\n Piotr Szczerek, the man who went viral for grabbing tennis player Kamil Majchrzak\u2019s hat from a young fan at the U.S. Open, has apologized for his \u2018hurtful actions\u2019 and said he returned the hat.<\/p>\n Not to be outdone by the players themselves, a video of spectator\u00a0Piotr Szczerek\u00a0<\/a>went viral after he snatched tennis player Kamil Majchrzak’s hat from a disappointed young fan. He later apologized.<\/p>\n “New York City tends to bring out just a lot of drama, I guess,” player Jessica Pegula\u00a0said Saturday, according to multiple media outlets<\/a>.<\/p>\n ‘Love watching the two of them’<\/p>\n But then, there are Williams and Fernandez, delighting the crowds with their enthusiasm and mutual respect for each other.<\/p>\n “Cuteness overload,” posted the U.S. Open’s X account<\/a>, alongside a video of Fernandez inviting Venus Williams to do her signature twirl-wave.<\/p>\n Another fan on X described<\/a> the interaction as one that\u00a0showcased their on-court chemistry, respect and appreciation.<\/p>\n “They have brought so much joy to this tournament,” posted the tennis podcast Ground Pass.<\/p>\n “It’s amazing to get to see her play with Venus. I love watching the two of them on the court,” tennis fan Teresa Saccucci told CBC News Network, speaking\u00a0from Regina.<\/p>\n Williams, for her part,\u00a0has called Fernandez her best partner other than Serena.<\/p>\n “We’re on the same wavelength, and hopefully we can keep it going,” Williams said Monday<\/a>.<\/p>\n![\"\"](\"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/ca\/wp-content\/uploads\/2025\/09\/1756832413_800_default.jpg\")
<\/p>\n![\"A](\"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/ca\/wp-content\/uploads\/2025\/08\/tennis-usopen.JPG\")
Russia’s Daniil Medvedev talks to the referee during his first round match against France’s Benjamin Bonzi on Aug. 24, 2025 at Flushing Meadows in New York. (Eduardo Munoz\/Reuters)<\/p>\n![\"\"](\"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/ca\/wp-content\/uploads\/2025\/09\/1756832415_588_default.jpg\")
<\/p>\n
![\"Two](\"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/ca\/wp-content\/uploads\/2025\/09\/tennis-usopen.JPG\")
Williams, left, and Fernandez, right, in action against Russia’s Ekaterina Alexandrova and China’s Shuai Zhang on Monday. (Eduardo Munoz\/Reuters)