Out of sorts and out of answers, defending champion Serena Williams is out of the Rio de Janeiro Olympics.
Shanking shots of all sorts, including five — yes, five! — double-faults in one game alone, Williams lost to Elina Svitolina of Ukraine 6-4, 6-3 in the third round in a shocker Tuesday, ending the No. 1-seeded American's bid to become the first tennis player to collect a pair of singles golds.
Svitolina won 63 points in the match, but only nine came via clean winners of her own doing. The others came thanks to Williams' 37 unforced errors and 17 forced errors.
"The better player won," said Williams, who did not take questions from the media after the match and instead did a brief interview with a U.S. Tennis Association spokesman.
Rugby team splits
The U.S. men's rugby team conceded a last-minute try in a 17-14 loss to Argentina in its first match and rebounded with a 26-0 win over Brazil, leaving plenty on the line Wednesday when the Americans play Fiji.
The Fijians lead Pool A after outscoring Spain and France 50-0 in two wins.
The top eight teams after three group games enter the quarterfinals. That's the top two teams in each of the three groups, plus the next two third-place teams, so point differentials will be crucial.
Volleyball team falls
The U.S. men's volleyball team remains winless in the Olympic tournament after losing 3-1 to Italy in pool play on Tuesday.
