NEW YORK, Aug ⁠26 (Reuters) - Serena and Venus Williams have received ⁠a women's doubles wildcard entry at the U.S. ‌Open, tournament organisers said on Wednesday.

The sisters have played together in the U.S. Open doubles nine times, most recently in ​2022, when Serena made an emotional ⁠farewell to the ⁠sport. Serena exited the mixed doubles tournament with partner ⁠Carlos ‌Alcaraz in the quarter-finals on Tuesday.

Serena, a 23-times Grand Slam champion, returned to the ⁠court for the first time in nearly ​four years ‌at the Queen's Club Championships in London in ⁠June.

The 44-year-old ​showed glimpses of her old form in her two mixed doubles matches on Tuesday, firing down a ⁠120 mph (193.1 kph) ace to gasps ​from the crowd at Arthur Ashe Stadium.

The 46-year-old Venus reached the women's doubles quarter-finals last year with Canadian ⁠partner Leylah Fernandez.

The Williams sisters played together this month in Cincinnati, where they lost in their opening match. They were once among the most formidable ​doubles pairs on the circuit, ⁠winning the U.S. Open title in 2009 and ​2019.

The women's doubles first round begins ‌at Flushing Meadows on September ​3.

(Reporting by Amy Tennery in New York; Editing by Sharon Singleton and Ed Osmond)