Serena Williams’ legendary tennis career likely over after third-round singles’ play loss at US Open
Serena Williams’ legendary tennis career may be over after a third-round singles’ match loss at the US Open on Friday.
The 36-year-old Williams, who is recovering from a shoulder surgery, lost to Spain’s Carla Suarez Navarro in the third-round at the Flushing Meadows venue.
She will be required to play a minimum of 48 games for the first time since June 2012 to qualify for the main draw after suffering two successive losses to Osaka and Petra Kvitova.
The US Open starts on Sunday – the first time in history that the first two rounds have been played over the same weekend – which means that it will be her second straight defeat at the majors.
Serena Williams, who is recovering from a shoulder surgery, lost to Carla Suarez Navarro in third-round at US Open
The 36-year-old appeared to be in control at times against Suarez Navarro but appeared to struggle to match her strong serve
Serena’s form during an impressive run at the French Open has put her in a position to challenge for a long-term ranking title at the US Open
Serena, who is currently one of the most prolific scorers in the world, has reached the quarterfinals at six consecutive Grand Slams since the start of 2013, when she became the oldest woman to land a set at a Slam.
Williams, who was ranked as high as 10th last month, has won 60 of her 72 matches – including three Grand Slam titles and the Australian Open – during her career.
Suarez Navarro, 21, will face Germany’s Caroline Wozniacki, who made her women’s singles debut in October, in the third round.
She was an emphatic 4-0 in her opening match, taking the set 6-1 before being broken in the seventh game of the second set, and is one of five different players to beat Williams in a third-round match at a Grand Slam at the professional level.
It comes after Serena went down 0-6, 6-2, 6-2 in the second set to Russian qualifier Daria Kasatkina at the Open last year and in the third round to Japan