No fairy tale in Berlin: Olmos and Routliffe shut down Williams return

The defeat was Williams first loss since returning to competitive tennis. Earlier, she had enjoyed a winning comeback at the Queen’s Club Championships, where she teamed up with Canadian teenager Victoria Mboko. The pair won their opening match and showed good form.

However, Mboko’s tournament ended in an unfortunate fashion. During her singles match against Karolina Pliskova, Mboko was leading 4-3 and trying to break serve when she slipped on the grass behind the baseline while chasing a shot. She injured her left knee and was unable to continue, forcing her to retire from the match.

Because of Mboko’s injury, Williams was left without her doubles partner and had to withdraw from the tournament.

The first set was closely contested, with both teams producing powerful serves and entertaining rallies, but Olmos and Routliffe grabbed a crucial break to take the set 6-4.

Williams and Muchova showed their fighting spirit in the second set, celebrating big points and trying to build momentum, while Olmos and Routliffe remained calm and focused under pressure.

The match featured strong net play, quick reactions, and several exciting exchanges that kept the crowd engaged.

With emotions running high on court, Olmos and Routliffe held their nerve in the key moments, earning another important break before closing out the second set 6-4 to complete the straight-sets win.

Speaking to the media after the match, Serena Williams said she felt much better on court in Berlin than she did during her first match at Queen’s Club.  “Honestly, I felt pretty good out there. I felt actually more nimble, more sturdy, and quicker than the first match in Queen’s.

“Yeah, overall, I feel pretty good. Just physically and quickness, which I think you need a lot of quickness on grass.”

AGiuliana Olmos and Erin Routliffe will face either Sara Errani and Nicole Melichar-Martinez or the Chinese pair of Jiang Xinyu and Xu Yifan in the second round of the Berlin Open.