Serena Williams and partner Karolina Muchova lost their first-round match at the Berlin Open on June 16. The pair fell 6-4, 6-4 to Erin Routliffe and Giuliana Olmos. The defeat came hours after Wimbledon confirmed wildcards for Serena and Venus Williams in doubles.
Serena Williams suffered her first loss since returning to the tour earlier this month. She and Muchova were defeated in straight sets by the experienced Canadian-Mexican duo at the Steffi Graf Stadion. The match lasted 91 minutes.
The American had been given a warm reception on court, as she had been at the HSBC Championships the previous week. Both teams held serve early, but Routliffe and Olmos broke Serena once in each set to secure the victory. Serena played on the left side of the court, a change from her usual position.
The result leaves Serena with limited preparation time before Wimbledon, which begins on June 29. She last played doubles at the tournament in 2016, when she and Venus won the title for the sixth time. Venus is scheduled to compete in singles at the Bad Homburg Open starting June 21.
