Serena and Venus stunned in doubles

Serena and Venus Williams have lost in the opening round of the women’s doubles in Rio.

It is their first ever Olympic loss as a team.

The American sisters, gold medallists in Sydney 2000, Beijing 2008 and London 2012, fell 6-3 6-4 to Czech duo Lucie Safarova and Barbora Strycova on Tuesday.

The loss followed a day after Venus fell in three sapping sets to Kirsten Flipkens in her opening round singles match.

Earlier on Tuesday, Serena won her first-round singles match against Australia’s Daria Gavrilova.

“It was a really tough match for us and a really tough draw, but we’re used to tough draws,” Serena said.

“We honestly didn’t play our best whatsoever tonight. We played terrible and that basically showed in the results. I don’t know why. I wasn’t playing the way I needed to play, I wasn’t crossing the way I needed to cross, it was what it was.

“I wouldn’t say it’s devastating. We have a chance to compete for our country, we did the best that we can. It was a lot of fun and we will always remember these moments and these matches and at the end of the day I think that’s what matters most.”