Serena Williams loses to Emma Raducanu in Cincinnati opening match, with US Open on the horizon

By Jill Martin, CNN

Updated 0251 GMT (1051 HKT) August 17, 2022

Serena Williams reacts while playing against Emma Raducanu of Great Britain in her first round match on Day 4 of the Western & Southern Open Tuesday in Mason, Ohio.

(CNN)Serena Williams on Tuesday lost to Britain's Emma Raducanu in the opening round of the Western & Southern Open, a WTA 1000-level event in Mason, Ohio.

It was Williams' second match since announcing she will «evolve away from tennis.»Raducanu, the reigning US Open champ, now advances to the round of 32 with a 6-4, 6-0 win.«I think we all need to just honor Serena and her amazing career. I'm so grateful for the experience, being able to play her and for our careers to have crossed over, and everything she has achieved is so inspirational,» Raducanu said on the court after the match. «It was a true honor to share the court with her.»Williams, 40, did not speak on the court after the match Tuesday, leaving the court quickly. Williams also did not do a post-match press conference, according to Ben Rothenberg, a senior editor for the Racquet magazine and a CNN contributor.Read MoreTearful Serena Williams begins farewell tour as she loses at the Canadian OpenLast week, an emotional Williams spoke to the crowd aftera defeat against Belinda Bencic in the second round of the Canadian Open in Toronto and was adorned with gifts. The 23-time grand slam winner is entered to play in the US Open, which starts later this month. And although she will try to win, Williams said in a Vogue article earlier this month that it's time for her to move «in a different direction.»«I have never liked the word retirement. It doesn't feel like a modern word to me. I've been thinking of this as a transition, but I want to