Since her return after maternity leave, the 39-year-old has taken part in four finals.
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Tennis legend Serena Williams lost her fourth round of French Open against Elena Rybakina. Williams faced a lot of challenges in the hands of the 21st ranked Russian-born Kazakhstani. The latter dropped just three points in the first set and went to win the match against the tennis superstar. Rybanika broke Serena twice in the second to win the match 6-3, 7-5 in one hour and 17 minutes.
“I got some good matches in here,” Williams told the press, after the match. “I did not have the best clay-court season, but it was good to finally get some wins on clay.”
“It was definitely close,” Williams said, regarding her match against Rybakina. “There is literally a point here, a point there, that could change the whole course of the match. I’m not winning those points. That literally could just change everything.”
Serena Williams came into the French Open with not a lot of claycourt practice. Just in 2021, she has lost 2 of the three matches on the surface. Williams was targeting an all-time record-equalling 24 Grand Slam singles titles. She is one short of Margaret Court’s mark. Since her return after maternity leave, the 39-year-old has taken part in four finals but is struggling to reach the 24th title.
An electric Elena Rybakina converted 5 of the 7 break point opportunities. She hit 21 winners in comparison to Serena Williams’ 15. Rybakina was also successful in firing 4 aces. Before the match started, she called Serena Williams a legend.
“The legend of the sport. Of course I want to be with her on the court, to feel this power and everything. I was watching her matches when I was growing up, and it will be nice to play with Serena. Why not?”
Rybakina entered the contest with straight-set victories in all three rounds and her victory over Serena Williams makes her a contender for the French Open 2021 title.
