Serena Williams departed the Australian Open in the most dramatic way, losing to Czech’s Karolina Pliskova after leading 5-1 in the deciding set Wednesday morning.
Williams, who was pursuing a 24th Grand Slam to equal Margaret Court’s record of 24 Major title wins, had a rocky start to the match. The Czech star was 3-1 in the first set when the American fought back to win the set 6-4.
In the second, the 37-year-old was 5-1 and on her way to a victory. While serving a potential winner, she sprained her ankle and things turned worse there afterward. Not only did Pliskova initiate a comeback in that set to win 6-4, she won the third set 7-5 to bundle out the American.
Despite the injury, Williams refused to use it as an excuse for the loss.
“My ankle seems to be fine. I don’t usually know until the next day,” the American said. “I think she just played lights out on match points, hitting lines. She just played unbelievable on match points.”
With the loss, tennis fans will miss out on a rematch between last year’s US Open winner Naomi Osaka against Williams. Instead, Osaka will face Pliskova. Both of these players will meet in the Australia Open Semi-finals for the first time ever
