SAN JOSE, Calif. (AP) — In the most lopsided defeat of her career, Serena Williams’ disappointing night back in the Bay Area ended in less than an hour as she lost her opening match of the Mubadala Silicon Valley Classic on Tuesday night to Johanna Konta, 6-1, 6-0.
When the 52-minute match ended on Williams’ forehand into the net, the 23-time Grand Slam champion walked off the court offering waves to the crowd that will hope she returns to the Bay Area again next year for a longer run than this early exit.
Williams had never won only one game — she won her serve for the initial game Tuesday then not another. She got two games at the 2014 WTA finals in Singapore, falling 6-0, 6-2 to Simona Halep.
While Williams was encouraged by her movement, she hardly looked like herself on a cool summer evening. She double-faulted and landed drop shots in the net. She missed returns and sprayed her groundstrokes long and wide.
Konta, who captured her first WTA title two years ago at Stanford, got on a roll and didn’t take a chance in letting Williams get back in it.
The sixth-seeded Williams is a three-time champion in the Bay Area. This marked the fifth tournament for the 36-year-old Williams since giving birth to her daughter, Alexis Olympia, last September. It’s her first tournament since her straight-set Wimbledon loss to Angelique Kerber.