Serena Williams Is Out at the French Open
In a huge upset, tennis legend Serena Williams has been eliminated in the third round of this year's French Open. She lost to fellow American Sofia Kenin, costing Williams her shot at a 24th Grand Slam championship. That would seem to pave the way for another championship win for Naomi Osaka, the 21-year-old Japanese player who beat Williams in another stunning upset in the finals of the U.S. Open last year. Except for one problem: Osaka herself was also eliminated in the French Open's third round.
In fact, the 2019 French Open has been about as chaotic as tennis gets. As the New York Times broke it down:
Sofia Kenin’s 6-2, 7-5 win over Williams and Katerina Siniakova’s 6-4, 6-2 victory over Osaka underscored the wide-open nature of women’s tennis. Of the 32 seeds in Paris, 23 have been eliminated or have withdrawn before the fourth round. Eleven of the top 16 seeds are also out, although last year’s finalists—the champion Simona Halep and the runner-up Sloane Stephens—remain in contention.
Despite her loss here, and despite wins at the most recent U.S. and Australian Opens, this is the first time she was a top seeded player. Williams and Osaka remain two of the best-known and most capable U.S. players, but even such high caliber players dropping like flies this year.
An earlier version of this post mistakenly referred to Naomi Osaka as a player for the U.S. Osaka has dual citizenship with the U.S. and Japan, but she plays for Japan.
Originally Appeared on GQ
