Former world No.1 Serena Williams made her return to competitive tennis five months after giving birth.
In her first official match since winning the 2017 Australian Open, Williams and her sister Venus lost 6-2, 6-3 to Lesley Kerkhove and Demi Schuurs of the Netherlands, in a Fed Cup doubles match on Monday (NZ time).
The Americans had already clinched victory in the best-of-five event thanks to a pair of singles victories by Venus Williams.
Serena was scheduled to play alongside Lauren Davis, but with a spot in the second round locked up, captain Kathy Rinaldi made the popular decision to pair up the Williams sisters, who have won 14 Grand Slam doubles titles together.
"Honestly, I feel like we were all a team out here, us playing and everyone in the stands," Williams said in her postmatch interview. "It was all of us together, and it felt awesome."
Serena Williams' daughter, Alexis Olympia Ohanian Jr, was wearing a headband with an American flag design while sitting with her father, Reddit co-founder Alexis Ohanian, just behind the players' bench.
The US advanced to a World Cup semi-final against France in April, who defeated Belgium 3-2 this weekend.
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