Serena Williams Knocked Out of French Open, Loses 3rd Round Match

Serena Williams has been handed her earliest loss at a major in five years.

Serena Williams' quest for a 24th Grand Slam title ended with her earliest loss at a major tournament in five years.

Williams was outplayed in the third round of the French Open by 20-year-old American Sofia Kenin, who used clean, deep groundstrokes to put together the 6-2, 7-5 upset Saturday.

“In that first set, in particular, she hit pretty much inches from the line, and I haven’t played anyone like that in a long time. I just saw a player that was playing unbelievable.”

Serena Williams

Williams had said she considered not entering the French Open at all.

“I’m glad I came, at the end of the day, but it’s been a really grueling season for me.”

Serena Williams

She struggled through her opening match at the French Open, which she has won three times, and again against the 35th-ranked Kenin, who never before had made it to the round of 16 at a major.

But Kenin played quite well, never showing a trace of nerves. It was Williams whose strokes were off target: Her 34 unforced errors were twice as many as Kenin's total.

Remarkably, Kenin broke Williams four times, while only ceding one of her own service games.

“Just playing against Serena, you’ve really got to fight for every point. She’s such a tough player. I’m just so happy with this win.”

Sofia Kenin

And then, her voice choking on her words, Kenin added: "Obviously, you can tell, with my emotions."

After trailing 3-1 in the second set, Williams appeared to be getting back into the match, breaking back and then holding for a 4-3 lead with the help of three aces. After two of them, Williams stared down Kenin, who had questioned a call earlier in that game.

At 5-all, though, Kenin got the last break she'd need with a forehand return winner off a 102 mph (164 kph) serve. She ran to her sideline seat and pressed a towel against her face.

There was one last key moment: While serving for the victory, Kenin faced a break point, but Williams' miscue let it go by. One last error by Williams — a backhand that sailed long — ended things.

Since those early-for-her defeats, Williams had won six of the 14 majors she entered to surpass Steffi Graf's professional-era record of 22 Grand Slam singles championships. With 23, Williams stands one win away from Margaret Court's mark for the most in tennis history; Court played in both the professional and amateur eras.

Williams, who is 37, sat out four Slams in 2017-18 while she was off the tour to have a baby. Her first major tournament back was last year's French Open, where she withdrew before a fourth-round match because of a chest muscle injury. She went on to reach the finals of Wimbledon and the US Open, before wasting match points during a quarter-final loss at the Australian Open.

Williams came to Paris having played only four matches since then; she withdrew from two tournaments because of an injured left knee and another because of illness.