Serena Williams’s return to tournament tennis came to an abrupt end on Monday as she crashed out of Indian Wells Masters with a 6-3 6-4 defeat to her sister Venus. Venus closed out the 29th career meeting between the two on her second match point as Serena sailed a forehand long to end the third-round match in front of a crowd of 13,000. It was the first meeting between the sisters since they clashed in the 2017 Australian Open final, which Serena won before taking a 15-month hiatus due to her pregnancy. Serena said she is still easing her way back into match fitness. "It wasn’t very easy, obviously," she said. "It was good to play and try to get in the rhythm and get into the swing again. "I can’t really replicate the situation no matter how much I do in practice. I make those shots 10 times out of 10 in practice. "It’s just the nerves, the anticipation you feel naturally. It’s a little bit of everything that comes in a match that just doesn’t normally happen." The 10th-seeded Venu...

Subscribe now to unlock this article.

Support BusinessLIVE’s award-winning journalism for R129 per month (digital access only).

There’s never been a more important time to support independent journalism in SA. Our subscription packages now offer an ad-free experience for readers.

Cancel anytime.

Would you like to comment on this article?
Sign up (it's quick and free) or sign in now.

Speech Bubbles

Please read our Comment Policy before commenting.