(Getty Images)

Another viral illness, albeit one that wasn’t accompanied by any of the same bizarre behavior that clouded her Wimbledon doubles withdrawal, forced Serena Williams out of her opening match at the Wuhan Open in China.

Williams had just broken Alize Cornet’s serve to go up 6-5 in the first set when she saw a trainer during the changeover. The world No. 1 had looked vaguely uncomfortable for much of the match, but it was still a surprise when she was forced to call it quits after having her blood pressure taken and consulting with the tournament’s medical staff.

(Getty Images)

“I’m sorry to all the fans in Wuhan,” Williams said in a statement. “I felt dizzy and nauseous in the first set and unfortunately couldn’t continue.”

The loss to Cornet is Williams’ third of the season. She had previously lost to the Frenchwoman in the third round of Wimbledon (a loss which preceded the infamous doubles match) and the semifinals in Dubai. Williams hadn’t lost to the same opponent three times in a year since 2007, when Justine Henin pulled the feat. The main difference between the two was that Henin was the No. 1 player in the world that year. This season, Cornet hasn’t been ranked higher than No. 21.

This was Williams’ first match since winning the U.S. Open earlier this month. She’s due to play in next week’s China Open in Beijing, but hopefully not before addressing the health issue that’s forced her from her second match in the past three months.

Serena shouldn’t feel too badly about her flame-out in Wuhan. As Ben Rothenberg notes, 11 of the 16 seeds are out of the tournament, which is in its debut year. Of the five that remain, three have yet to take the court.

(Screenshot via SI.com)

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