Serena Williams ousted in 3rd round in Rio
American makes 37 unforced errors as her Olympics come to a close
By Daniel Goffenberg, CBC Sports
Serena Williams lost to Ukraine's Elina Svitolina 6-4, 6-3 in her third-round Olympic singles match on Tuesday.
The loss ends Williams's run at Rio, having come two days after Serena and sister Venus were eliminated in the first round of the doubles bracket.
- SCHEDULE & RESULTS: Tennis at Rio 2016
- WATCH: Serena Williams eliminated from competition in shocking upset
"It's obviously disappointing but, you know, she played really well and I think the better player today won," Williams said. "I can't wait for the next time and I know next time it's going to be a really good match."
Svitolina, the WTA's 20th-ranked player, made just nine winners throughout the match, but was often able to stay in rallies long enough for Williams to make a mistake.
Williams made 37 unforced errors and had eight double faults during the match, which lasted one hour, 12 minutes.
"It didn't work out the way I wanted to, but at least I was able to make it to Rio. That was one of my goals," Williams said.
🐐 goes down! 21-year-old Elina Svitolina of <a href="https://twitter.com/hashtag/UKR?src=hash">#UKR</a> knocks off Serena Williams in the third round. What an upset <a href="https://t.co/ftpjrLv0Li">https://t.co/ftpjrLv0Li</a>
—@CBCOlympicsWilliams had her serve broken five times in the match.
She came into Rio as the No. 1 seed and the defending Olympic champion, with a 4-0 career record against Svitolina.
The Ukrainian will face two-time Wimbledon champion Petra Kvitova of the Czech Republic in the quarter-finals on Wednesday.