Former British number 1 Johanna Konta announced her retirement from the sport of tennis on December 1, ending a short but memorable career.
The 26-year-old from Hyderabad squandered a one-game advantage to lose 21-18 16-21 12-21 against the world number 43 Takahashi.
Sindhu looked sluggish in her first event in two months at last week's Denmark Open, where she lost in the quarterfinals to fast-rising Korean An Seyoung.
Serena Williams has remained a force in the sport of tennis since she made her debut and, even now, remains the woman to beat on the WTA tour.
Having already missed the Wimbledon and the Tokyo Olympics, the four-time US Open champion will also miss the final Grand Slam of the year.
Pete Sampras set the record for most Grand Slam wins before the arrival of Roger Federer, Rafael Nadal and Novak Djokovic.
With many big names pulling out of the Tokyo Olympics, the Serbian was expected to walk away with the gold medal, but Alexander Zverev had other ideas.
Serena Williams was trying to equal Margaret Court’s all-time record of 24 grand slam titles, but her quest for history ended in tears.
The World No. 1 recovered brilliantly from losing the opening set to ease past British wild card Jack Draper in the other sets.
After withdrawing from the French Open in the early stages, her decision to skip another major tournament will be a big blow for the grasscourt Grand Slam.
