The world's best women's tennis player will return home from Rio without a medal.
Top seed and defending Olympic champion Serena Williams was stunned in the third round Tuesday by Elina Svitolina of the Ukraine, falling 6-4, 6-3 to bow out of the Rio Games.
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That defeat came on the heels of first-round upset defeats suffered by Serena and sister Venus in doubles and fifth-seeded Venus in singles. Venus is entered in the mixed doubles draw with Rajeev Ram, the only remaining medal hope for the sisters.
Svitolina, 21, lists Serena Williams as one of her heroes, but she was not awed by the opponent or the stage Tuesday. Even after a double fault in the second set allowed Williams to erase an early break and get back on serve, Svitolina hung in long enough in the following game to watch Williams self-destruct. Five double faults in a single game by the world's top-ranked player allowed Svitolina to take a 4-3 lead and put her on the edge of victory.
After consolidating the break with ease, Svitolina broke a clearly out-of-sorts Williams in the final game, with the superstar's 37th unforced error sealing a woeful stay in Brazil.
Svitolina's best career showing in a Grand Slam is a quarterfinal appearance at the 2015 French Open. She has now advanced to the quarters at the Olympics thanks to a victory she'll never forget regardless of what comes next in Rio.