Serena Williams drops match to Emma Raducanu as US Open looms

John McEnroe talked to Fox News Digital ahead of an LAFC soccer game in which he called the game with actor Will Ferrell.

Serena Williams lost the second U.S. Open tuneup match she competed in since she indicated she was likely to step away from tennis following the final Grand Slam of the year.

Williams fell in straight sets to reigning U.S. Open champion Emma Raducanu, 6-4, 6-0, at the Western & Southern Open in Ohio on Tuesday night.

The event was the second tuneup match ahead of the Grand Slam tournament in Flushing Meadows, N.Y. Williams lost to Belinda Bencic in straight sets last week in Toronto. Before her essay was published in Vogue magazine, she defeated Nuria Parrizas-Diaz for her first win since the 2021 French Open.

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Serena Williams, left, shakes hands with Emma Raducanu of Britain after their match during the Western & Southern Open tennis tournament on Aug. 16, 2022, in Mason, Ohio. (AP Photo/Aaron Doster)

Raducanu came into the tournament ranked No. 13 in the world. She hadn’t won a match since the Citi Open in Washington against Camila Osorio. She lost in straight sets to Camila Giorgi in the National Bank Open in Toronto.

Williams, 40, is set to walk away from the sport with 23 Grand Slam titles — the most in the Open Era and second most all-time behind Margaret Court. She will get one more chance to tie the court’s record. She lost in the first round of Wimbledon earlier in the summer.

Emma Raducanu of Britain reacts after winning a point against Serena Williams during the Western & Southern Open tennis tournament on Aug. 16, 2022, in Mason, Ohio. (AP Photo/Aaron Doster)

Williams admitted in the essay that there was no "happiness" in making