Tennis legend Serena Williams knocked out of Canadian Open
What's the story
Tennis legend Serena Williams crashed out of the ongoing Canadian Open after facing a 2-6, 4-6 defeat to Belinda Bencic on Wednesday. Williams, who is set to retire from tennis following the US Open, featured in just her third match of 2022. In the first round, she claimed her first singles win since the 2021 French Open after beating Spain's Nuria Parrizas-Diaz 6-3, 6-4.
Twitter Post
WATCH: A tearful exit for Williams
From Serena 💜
— wta (@WTA) August 11, 2022
To Toronto 🇨🇦 pic.twitter.com/gjcX1QnoeG
Context
Why does this story matter?
Veteran Serena Williams is set to retire from tennis. Williams, 40, announced her decision to retire in the September edition of Vogue magazine on Tuesday. The 23-time Grand Slam winner will play her last match at the US Open, starting August 29. Before the ongoing Canadian Open, Williams faced a first-round exit from Wimbledon, losing to France's Harmony Tan.
Titles
Williams has won the US Open six times
Williams clinched the first of her 23 Grand Slam titles by winning the US Open in 1999. She now has a total of six US Open titles to her name (1999, 2002, 2008, 2012, 2013, 2014), the joint-most with Chris Evert in the Open Era. By winning another, the former can have the joint-second-most US Open titles with Helen Wills (all-time list).
Records
Monumental records of Williams at US Open
Williams has won the US Open without losing a set thrice (2002, 2008, and 2014). She is one of two women to have won over 100 US Open matches, the other being Evert (101). Among active players, Venus Williams is behind Williams (106-14) in terms of match-wins (79). Williams has the third-best win percentage (88.3) at this Slam among women with over 50 wins.
Drought
Will the champion sign off with glory?
Williams last won a Grand Slam title in 2017 (Australian Open). The American has qualified for two Wimbledon (2018-19) and two US Open finals (2018-19) ever since. Williams last reached a major semi-final in 2021 (Australian Open). Prior to this drought, Williams had won at least one Grand Slam for six straight years (2012-2017). Will she add a record-breaking 24th major to her tally?
Form
Williams has played three matches in 2022
As stated, Williams has played just three matches in the ongoing season. She has won just a solitary match. Before 2022 Wimbledon, Williams last competed at the 2021 French Open where she lost to Elena Rybakina in the last-16 clash. The former had lost the Australian Open semi-finals to third seed Naomi Osaka. Williams finished 2021 with a win-loss record of 12-6.