Brothers, sisters and twins, oh my! From the early days of women's professional tennis, where sisters Chris and Jeanne Evert played doubles together in the 1970s, to the days of John and Patrick McEnroe on the men's circuit, siblings have long held a storied place in the world of tennis—especially at the US Open.
Over the past two decades, siblings have had starring roles in the city that never sleeps. Check out some of the best moments for tennis' outstanding siblings at Flushing Meadows.
It's easy to start the list with the obvious: Serena and Venus Williams. Quite possibly the world's most famous sporting sisters, Serena and Venus have combined to win 11 titles in New York between singles, doubles and mixed doubles, last partnering to win in New York together in 2009.
In the men's doubles game, Bob and Mike Bryan are the cream of the crop, as the twins—no doubt on course for enshrinement in the International Tennis Hall of Fame in Newport, R.I.—won 16 Grand Slam titles together and five in Flushing Meadows before their retirement from tennis in 2020. Their title at the 2014 Open—their fifth and last in New York—was their 100th career championship as a pair.
Speaking of mirror twins, Czechs Karolina and Kristyna Pliskova have each had a milestone result for the family at the US Open. While Karolina (above, right), the right-hander, was the runner-up to Angelique Kerber at the Open in 2016, her left-handed twin Kristyna was the first in the family to win a main-draw match in New York back in 2012.
Sometimes, though, tennis' best siblings have performed their best at the Open in opposite draws. Though they never competed in mixed doubles together in New York, Dinara Safina and Marat Safin each own an Open title. Elder brother Marat was the men's singles champion in 2000—and recently was crowned the men's all-time winner in our fan-voted Bracket of Champions—while his younger sister Dinara won the women's doubles title alongside France's Nathalie Dechy in 2007.
The Russian siblings (Dinara is pictured above, right) were the first brother and sister pair in tennis history to each hold the world No. 1 ranking.
Also boasting five Open trophies between them are Andy and Jamie Murray. Andy was the singles champion in 2012, winning his first Slam title, while Jamie has not only won three titles in mixed doubles, but also the 2016 men's doubles crown. Both Scottish brothers reached world No. 1 in their respective rankings—Andy in singles and Jamie in doubles—in 2016.
Cara and Wayne Black of Zimbabwe, pictured above after winning Wimbledon together in 2004, each own US Open titles, as well. Wayne was the 2001 men's doubles champion with compatriot Kevin Ullyet, while Cara reached three women's doubles finals in New York. She won the title with American Liezel Huber in 2008, and also won the mixed title in that same year. In addition, the pair's oldest brother, Byron Black, reached the singles quarterfinals in 1995 and the men's doubles semifinals in 1999.
Good things can also come in threes. That "most successful trio" title belongs to Manuela, Katerina and Magdalena Maleeva from Bulgaria. The only three sisters ever to reach the WTA Top 10 at the same time, all three reached at least the quarterfinals in New York. Manuela (pictured above) reached the semifinals in 1992 and 1993.
In recent years, Latisha Chan and Chan Hao-ching from Chinese Taipei have established themselves as two of the WTA's best doubles players. The sisters reached the Open quarterfinals together in 2015, before elder sister Latisha (above, right) went on to win the women's doubles title with Martina Hingis in 2017. Hao-ching is a two-time mixed doubles finalist in New York, finishing runner-up in 2017 and 2019, and the sisters have also won the US Open Series event in Cincinnati together.
The nation of Ukraine has been synonymous with sisterhood over the past two decades. Alona and Kateryna Bondarenko—who also had a third tennis-playing sister, Natalia—won the 2008 Australian Open title together, while Kateryna (above, right) reached the quarterfinals at the 2009 Open for her best Gand Slam singles result.
Identical twins Nadiia and Lyudmyla Kichenok also each boast a quarterfinal in New York on their tennis resumes, with the former reaching the last eight in mixed doubles in 2018 and the latter doing so alongside Jelena Ostapenko in women's doubles in 2019.
As a wild card pairing at the 2012 US Open, American brothers Christian and Ryan Harrison (above, right) reached the quarterfinals in men's doubles, while German brothers Mischa and Alexander Zverev (below, right) have each reached the second week in men's singles.
The elder Mischa reached the fourth round in 2017, while Alexander was the singles runner-up to Dominic Thiem in 2020, reaching his first Grand Slam final.
