Serena Williams' wait to equal Margaret Court's record of 24 Grand Slam singles goes on after her shock French Open defeat to Elena Rybakina in Paris.
The 39-year-old American became the latest top 10 seed to head for the Roland Garros exit after a 6-3, 7-5 fourth-round loss.
Rybakina, the 21-year-old from Kazakhstan, extended her best run at a major, sealing quarter-final spot for the first time. She will face Anastasia Pavlyuchenkova for a place in the last four.
For Williams, who fell to a 77-minute defeat on Court Philippe Chatrier on Sunday night, it was a case of so near, and yet so far. "It was definitely close. I'm so close. There is literally a point here, a point there, that could change the whole course of the match," she said.
"I'm not winning those points. That like literally could just change everything."
Williams still remains without a Grand Slam title since winning the 2017 Australian Open.
"I'm in a much better place than when I got here," Williams said. "You know, I was just literally trying to win a match, because it had been a really difficult season for me on the clay.
"Although I love the clay, I was, like, if I could just win a match. That's kind of where I was kind of coming in."
Her exit means just two of the women's top 10 seeds are left in the competition – reigning champion Iga Swiatek and last year's runner-up Sofia Kenin.
Asked whether this might be her last appearance on the clay-courts at Roland Garros, Williams said: "I'm definitely not thinking about it at all. I'm definitely thinking just about other things but not about that."
