American superstar tennis player Serena Williams was handed another shock just a day after her US Open women’s doubles exit as she was beaten in the singles and knocked out by Australia’s Ajla Tomljanovic on Friday night, September 3, 2022. She was beaten 7-5, 6(4)-7(7), 6-1 by her 29-year-old opponent at the Flushing Meadows, which could be her last-ever match at the US Open.

Williams began the match underwhelmingly, losing 5-7 against Tomljanovic in the first set. However, she made a comeback in the following set, winning it 6-7 after a tough fight in the second set.

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However, Tomljanovic’s relentless pressure on the 40-year-old resulted in her fall during the third set, which she lost 6-1 on Friday evening.

Serena began her 2022 US Open singles campaign with a win over Danka Kovinic of Montenegro in the first round before beating world no. 2 Anett Kontaveit in the second round.

Ajla Tomljanovic, who knocked Serena out of the ongoing edition of the US Open, will face Ludmilla Samsonova of Russia in the next round.

The defeat comes a day after her women’s doubles defeat at the 2022 US Open, when she and her sister Venus Williams, were defeated by Czech pair Linda Nosková and Lucie Hradecka 7-6(5), 6-4. The match was probably the Williams sisters’ final doubles game in their career.

Serena has won 23 grand slam singles and 14 doubles titles in her career, including seven US Open women’s singles titles. She has also overtaken other tennis greats like Steffi Graf (22), Chris Evert (18) and Martina Navratilova (18) in the total number of singles major titles. The 40-year-old won eight grand slam singles titles between 2012-15, a period which is considered her prime.

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Rumours have been floating that Serena Williams might be putting down her racquet after the US Open. The American star was asked about it following the match, to which she answered, “I don’t think so but you never know.”

Williams announced in August that she was evolving away from the sport to focus on her family and other business interests.