Serena and Venus Williams were shocked in the first round of doubles play at the Rio de Janeiro Olympics.
Lucie Safarova and Barbora Strycova of the Czech Republic defeated the reigning and three-time Olympic champions in straight sets 6-3, 6-4 Sunday. The loss was theWilliams‘ sisters first-ever doubles loss in Olympic play.
There were questions as to whether Venus would even take the court Sunday after the 36-year-old looked less than herself Saturday in a loss to open up singles play. The elder Williams is reportedly suffering from a virus that she caught at the end of a WTA tournament in Montreal last week.
Not all is lost for the Williams family, as Serena Williams still has the singles tournament to look forward to. The 2012 gold medalist and world No. 1 won her first-round match earlier Sunday and will play France’s Alize Cornet Monday.