Serena Williams was beaten in the first round of the Cincinnati Open by Emma Raducanu in what was her last appearance of the tournament.
Serena, who has announced her retirement from the sport after the upcoming U.S Open, was easily beaten 6-4, 6-0 by the current U.S Open champion.
After a sluggish start, the 23-time Grand Slam champion managed to cut Raducanu’s lead to 4-3. But the Brit responded diligently to snag the first set.
Raducanu rolled from there on as Serena’s challenge faded to seal the win in the pair’s first-ever meeting.
With her loss at the Cincinnati Open, Serena Williams only has the U.S Open remaining on her schedule as she brings down the curtains on her historic career.
Meanwhile, in other matches, Naomi Osaka’s U.S. Open preparations suffered another setback as the former world number one was brushed aside 6-4 7-5 by China’s Zhang Shuai.
Romanian Sorana Cirstea upset Swiss Olympic champion and 12th seed Belinda Bencic 6-2 6-7(3) 6-4 while 14th seed Karolina Pliskova eased past Venus Williams 7-5 6-1.
Caroline Garcia of France continued her streak of wins over big names after she ousted Maria Sakkari 7-6, 6-7, 6-1. Canadian Open winner Simona Halep followed up her triumph with a 6-4, 3-6, 6-3 win over Anastasia Potapova while Jeļena Ostapenko beat a surging Beatriz Haddad Maia 6-4, 6-4.
Over at the men’s bracket, Daniil Medvedev put his recent struggles behind him to beat Botic van de Zandschulp 6-4, 7-5.
Taylor Fritz, Nick Kyrgios, Fabio Fognini, Borna Coric, Jannik Sinner, Frances Tiafoe and Carlos Alcaraz also reached the next round.
