Serena Williams’ legendary tennis career likely over after third-round singles’ play loss at US Open
Serena Williams’ legendary tennis career likely over after third-round singles’ loss at US Open
Serena Williams could have a tough time returning from that fourth-straight career Wimbledon final loss.
The 34-year-old American is on the short list of athletes who have never won a Grand Slam singles title.
She’s no stranger to losing, at least at the grand slam level. She’s been the last American to win a Grand Slam singles title at both Wimbledon and the US Open, the only player in history to win the US Open women’s title and not the one to win a Grand Slam singles title at the same time.
And on Saturday, she faced a tough task, playing a three-setter against a Frenchwoman who is an amazing 17-0 against Serena Williams.
Williams lost in three sets to Agnieszka Radwanska, 7-6, 6-4.
After the match, Williams said she could not fault Radwanska too much.
“She’s very strong,” Williams said. “The first point, she was in the top 10 for the first time in her career. She’s playing like I’ve never seen her play. She’s just getting better.”
Williams won the French Open title in 2014 but hasn’t won a Grand Slam singles title since.
She has had back-to-back career-best performances on the hard courts at this year’s U.S. Open, winning in Flushing Meadows, New York on June 25 and defeating No. 1, Serena Williams, in the quarters on Saturday, June 28 against a qualifier.
She’s playing an all-court match against a qualifier who has won her last three matches and is playing in her third final of the year. That is a significant change in style for the 23-time Grand Slam singles champion.
The loss at a Grand Slam to the 27-year-old Radwanska was the biggest of her career. Her best career win is a 7-5, 6-2 win over Anastasia Pavlyuchenkova at the 2014 Wimbledon Championships.
Williams is only the second American to win a major singles trophy at least