Serena And Venus Williams Fall In First-Ever First-Round Olympics Doubles Loss

Three-time Olympic doubles champions Venus and Serena Williams suffered their first-ever Olympic loss in the first round at Rio on Sunday. The sisters fell to Lucie Šafářová and Barbora Strýcová of the Czech Republic, who won the match 6-3, 6-4 in straight sets in one of the day’s biggest upsets.

Serena, Venus Williams Fall In First-Ever First-Round Olympics Doubles Loss

The Williams sisters entered the match a perfect 15-0 in the Olympics, claiming the gold medal in women’s doubles every time they set foot on the court: 2000 in Sydney, 2008 in Beijing and 2012 in London. They did not compete in Athens in 2004 after Serena pulled out through injury.

Earlier in the day, Serena quickly dominated her first-round singles match, defeating Australia’s unseeded Daria Gavrilova 6-4, 6-2. Venus, however, lost her opening singles match on Saturday in a three-hour, three-set battle with Belgium’s Kirsten Flipkens. US women’s Olympic tennis coach Mary Joe Fernandez claimed Venus, a seven-time major champion, had been sick before arriving in Brazil. Fernandez also said Venus was dealing with cramping, dehydration and an upset stomach after Saturday’s loss.

The American pair was the No. 1 seed in Rio following their 14th Grand Slam championship at Wimbledon just over a month ago.

The Czech duo dominated from the start on Sunday, beating the Williams in key points in the first set. While Venus and Serena were then able to match the Czechs nearly point-for-point in the second set, even leading 4-3 following a controversial call, they were unable to maintain the momentum.

Strycova replaced Karolina Pliskova, who withdrew due to Zika virus concerns. Neither of the unseeded Czech pair had won an Olympic doubles match, also losing their only previous outing together in a Fed Cup match last year. They won in 93 minutes at the Olympic Tennis Centre.

“We played terrible and it showed in the results,” said 22-time Grand Slam singles title winner Serena.

Together, Venus, 36, and Serena, 34, have won 15 matches together across Olympic Games and Grand Slam tournaments.

“It was what it was,” Serena said. “We have a chance to compete for our country and did the best that we can. We had a blast out there.

“I wouldn’t say it was devastating. It was a lot of fun and we will always remember these moments and these matches.

“At the end of the day, I think that’s what matters most.”

Serena will face Alize Cornet in the second round after the French player overcame Sweden’s Johanna Larsson.

No. 2 seed Angelique Kerber of Germany also advanced to the second round after defeating Colombia’s Mariana Duque-Marino.

RIO DE JANEIRO, BRAZIL – AUGUST 07: Serena and Venus Williams of the USA in action against Lucie Safarova and Barbora Strycova of the Czech Republic in their doubles match on Day 2 of the Rio 2016 Olympic Games at the Olympic Tennis Centre on August 7, 2016 in Rio de Janeiro, Brazil. (Photo by Cameron Spencer/Getty Images)