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23-time Grand Slam champion Serena Williams lost her Ohio tennis match last night (August 16) at the Western & Southern Open, according to NBC 4 News. This is the second match Williams has lost since announcing the "countdown has begun" on her career.
40-year-old Williams lost 6-4, 6-0 to U.S. Open champion Emma Raducanu in the Western & Southern Open in Cincinnati. 19-year-old Raducanu, who is ranked No. 19 in the world, dispatched Williams in 1 hour and 5 minutes.
“I can’t believe I just played Serena Williams,” Raducanu said. “It’s something that I think I’m really fortunate to have been able to do, and for our careers to have crossed when there’s such a big (age) gap and watching her growing up, it was an amazing experience to just play her.”
Williams briskly left the court, waiving to the crowd as she exited, and did not speak to reporters after the match. She also lost to Belinda Bencic in straight sets last week in Toronto.
In a Vogue magazine essay and and Instagram post last week, Williams said her career was winding down. However, she did not explicitly say the U.S. Open, which begins August 29 in New York, will be her last tournament.