Berlin
Nightmare repeats as Serena dumped in doubles again
Serena Williams has to be praying that her luck will change after losing a WTA doubles match on Tuesday after her earlier loss in what was billed as a grass-court comeback for the 23-time Grand Slam singles champion.
The 44-year-old playing alongside Czech Karolina Muchova, lost an opening match on Tuesday on the WTA Berlin grass as opponents Giliaana Olmos and Kiwi Erin Routliffe advanced 6-4, 6-4.
The 91-minute loss was a repeat of last week at Queen’s club, London, when Williams and Canadian Victoria Mboko were eliminated by a side also featuring Routliffe.
The pain of defeat might have been somewhat cushioned by news from Wimbledon that Williams and her elder sister Venus have been granted a wild card in doubles for the Championships starting June 29.
Serena last played a match in 2022 at the US Open and then dropped from the scene as she pursued her millionaire celebrity life while raising two daughters.
She and the teenaged Mboko won their opening match last week but were derailed as the Canadian withdrew a day later with injury.