Venus Williams Surprisingly Eliminated in the First Round of 2020 French Open

Venus Williams at the 2018 Australian Open. Photo by Stephen Bartholomew/IPS/REX/Shutterstock

Venus Williams couldn’t move past the first obstacle on the 2020 French Open. Williams was defeated in straight sets 6-4, 6-4 by Anna Karolina Schmiedlova on Sunday, and exits the tournament in the first round.

While Williams held pretty well for most of the match, making more winners and less double faults than Schmiedlova. However, Williams had an alarming number of unforced errors, which ended up swinging the match in Schmiedlova’s favor. 

Venus Williams has now exited all three Grand Slams in 2020 in the first round while recording her eight loss in nine matches she played this year. This also marked the third consecutive year in which the 40-year-old American didn’t make it past the first round on French Open.

Speaking with reporters after the match, Williams said that this was her last tournament of the year.

“I’m going home from here. I’m done. If there is somewhere to play, I won’t be there,” said Williams.

Williams was also coy about her plans for the future. 

“I just stepped off the court. So even though it hasn’t been a ton of tournaments, it’s still been a very long year. So, yeah, I’m not looking forward yet,” she added.

Schmiedlova is off to another big challenge. The 26-year-old Slovakian is set to face 2020 US Open finalist Victoria Azarenka in the second round.