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WTA Toronto: Serena Williams loses first match after announcement of retirement

23-time Grand Slam champion Serena Williams lost to Belinda Bencic in the second round of the WTA Tour 1000 event in Toronto.

by SID/red.
last edit: Aug 11, 2022, 08:29 am

© Getty Images
Serena Williams had to say goodbye to Toronto in the second round

Serena Williams has lost the first match after announcing her impending retirement. The 23-time Grand Slam winner from the USA lost to Olympic champion Belinda Bencic from Switzerland in the second round of the WTA tournament in Toronto 2:6, 4:6 and missed the round of 16. The twelfth in the world rankings now has to deal with the Spaniard Garbine Muguruza, who in turn defeated the Estonian Kaia Kanepi twice 6: 4.

Williams then said goodbye to the loudly applauding Canadian audience with tears in his eyes. "I'm terrible at goodbyes," Williams said. "Goodbye Toronto."

Jabeur has to give up

Earlier this week, the 40-year-old announced in a guest article for Vogue magazine that the "countdown" was on for her and that she would soon be ending her great career. Williams may have her last major appearance at the US Open in New York (from August 29). Before that, there is still a tournament in Cincinnati, for which she also accepted a wildcard.

Local hero Bianca Andreescu, who won the US Open in 2019, is in the round of 16. She defeated France's Alizé Cornet 6: 3, 4: 6, 6: 3. The next opponent for the 22-year-old from Ontario is the Chinese Qinwen Zheng, who benefited from the resignation of the Tunisian Ons Jabeur with a score of 1: 6, 1: 2. The reason for the premature abandonment of the game was severe abdominal pain.

Here is the individual tableau from Toronto.

by SID/red.

Thursday
Aug 11, 2022, 08:12 am
last edit: Aug 11, 2022, 08:29 am