Serena Williams‘ time at this year’s French Open has come to an end.
The Nike-sponsored athlete is out of the tournament after losing in the fourth round against Kazakhstani’s Elena Rybakina. The final score was 6-3, 7-5. As a result, Rybakina will advance to her first quarterfinal at a Grand Slam. She will play No. 31 Anastasia Pavlyuchenkova.
Overall, Williams has won three French Open titles — the last one coming in 2015. She has also won 23 Grand Slams.
William’s departure from the tournament comes after Roger Federer announced his decision to withdraw from the French Open. The news came on Sunday, just a day after the 20-time Grand Slam champion won a tight third-round match against Germany’s Dominik Koepfer that went on until the early morning hours.
Explaining his decision in a statement to the French tennis federation, Federer said he opted to drop out of the tournament to allow his body to recover from two knee surgeries.
Watch on FN
“After discussions with my team, I’ve decided I will need to pull out of Roland-Garros today. After two knee surgeries and over a year of rehabilitation it’s important that I listen to my body and make sure I don’t push myself too quickly on my road to recovery,” Federer shared. “I am thrilled to have gotten 3 matches under my belt. There is no greater feeling than being back on the court.”
Federer’s participation in the French Open was his first major tournament since the Australian Open in 2020. That same year is when the 39-year-old, who represents Switzerland and won the French Open in 2009, had his first knee operations, ESPN reported.
