The former world No 1 lost 6-3, 2-6, 6-3 to eighth-seeded Petra Kvitova in the second-round of the competition which lasted for two hours on Tuesday.
The mother of one was also knocked out in her last tournament at San Jose two weeks ago after reaching the Wimbledon final. Cincinnati was her fifth tournament since she had her baby September 2017.
Speaking after the game, the 36-year-old who was playing her first game after her heaviest career defeat, a 6-1 6-0 loss to Britain’s Johanna Konta in the Silicon Valley Classic first round said;
“You know, this is a long comeback. I just began. I just started, definitely at the very, very beginning. I’m getting there, and I’m going to just continue to work hard and, hopefully, I’ll start winning more matches.”
On her part, Petra Kvitova said;
“It was a pleasure to share the court with Serena, she’s such a champion.”
“We are both coming back – from injury, from motherhood – so it’s something really special to play her.”
