Venus and Serena Williams have been called out after an agonizing US Open doubles defeat.The legendary tennis sisters suffered a painful Flushing Meadows defeat to Australian Maya Joint and Taiwan’s Chan Hao-Ching in front of a packed-out Arthur Ashe Stadium on Friday in the women’s doubles first-round clash.Venus and Serena’s New York return ended in heartbreaking fashionGettyVenus, 46, and Serena, 44, had managed to claw their way back into the match after trailing 1-4 in their final set, establishing a 5-0 lead in the third set tie-break. However, just as the iconic pair were on the verge of advancing, they lost 10 of the last 12 points in the match and were defeated 6-3, 6-7 (6), 7-6 (7) in three hours and two minutes.Venus and Serena Williams skip media duties after US Open lossIt was later confirmed by the US Tennis Association that Serena and Venus would be unavailable for their post-match press conference after the defeat.“Serena and Venus Williams will not be available for press tonight,” a US Open statement read, courtesy of tennis journalist Ben Rothenberg on X.“Deeply unsurprising,” he added.While the sisters are well within their rights to skip media duties after the match, it didn’t stop fans from calling them out as sore losers.One fan wrote on X, “Good riddance at this stage. I’m not press but I’m absolutely sick of this ‘rules don’t apply to us’ attitude. Four wild cards between them this US Open and they are basically giving a big middle finger to the tournament and the press.”“Win and they wouldn’t shut up….lose and it’s unavailable,” wrote another.“They continue to act like they are bigger than the sport that has given them everything,” a third wrote.Some fans even called for them to be fined.The iconic pair looked to be on their way to victory but had a late match meltdown that cost themGettyVenus and Serena’s decision to skip post-match media duties annoyed fans – and could also lead to finesGetty“Hope they get fined then. Disgraceful,” one person said.According to The Sun, the US Tennis Association has it in their power, as per the Grand Slam rule book, to fine them both for their withdrawal, unless there are “reasonable grounds” like injury or illness.Reportedly, they could be hit with fines up to $50,000 (£37,000) for skipping mandatory media duties, although it is unlikely.The legendary sisters, winners of 14 Grand Slams as a pairing, including the 1999 and 2009 US Opens, were playing their first major tournament together since the 2022 US Open, and 27 years after they first won the title.Serena, a 23-time Grand Slam singles champion, came out of retirement earlier this year, marking her comeback at the Queen’s Club Championships having originally retired at the 2022 US Open.Her and Venus had planned to play doubles at Wimbledon but it never materialized after Serena tweaked her knee in a first-round singles loss to Joint — the same opponent she lost to on Friday — on Centre Court.“Being able to play against such legends of the game is super special,” Joint said on court after her US Open doubles win over the tennis icons.What the defeat means for the iconic pair and their doubles partnership remains to be seenGetty“I’m lost for words to think of it,” she continued. “She’s my idol, both of them. I grew up in Michigan so I always looked up to them. Being able to play them twice is amazing.”Serena’s injury against Joint at SW19 made her opt out of taking a singles wildcard for the US Open.Venus, on the other hand, lost in the singles first round in New York to Sofia Kenin, her 15th consecutive singles loss, and was recently at the center of US Open fury.Serena has won just two matches out of seven since her return, and the question now is whether the pair will continue their doubles partnership in the future.It remains to be seen, although ESPN commentator Caroline Wozniacki revealed on commentary that she believes Serena wants to return to singles next year.