Serena Williams was beaten for the 149th time while playing her 1,000th Tour-level match as she lost 7-6(6), 7-5 to Argentina’s Nadia Podoroska in the Italian Open second round on Wednesday, new agencies reported.
She was playing her first competitive match in nearly three months and Podoroska, who reached the French Open semi-finals last year, produced a string of heavy topspin forehands to take control of the match with an early break in the second set.
Although Podoroska was broken to love on her first attempt to serve out the match, she maintained her composure to break again and secure a place in the round of 16.
Defeat for Williams, who received an opening round bye in Rome, was a major blow to her preparations for the French Open, starting on May 30.
World number two Naomi Osaka also crashed out of the tournament, losing 7-6(2) 6-2 to American Jessica Pegula.
Osaka, a four-times Grand Slam winner, has often struggled on clay and her defeat in Rome followed a second-round loss at the Madrid Open this month.(agencies)