WIMBLEDON, England — The five-time Wimbledon champion Venus Williams could not pull off a third consecutive comeback, instead joining the parade of top-10 seeds on the way out of the All England Club.
Williams, the No. 9 seed, lost to No. 20 Kiki Bertens, 6-2, 6-7 (5), 8-6, in the third round.
In each of her first two matches this week, Williams dropped the opening set before eventually winning in three. She couldn’t quite do the same this time.
Her exit means eight of the top 10 seeded women are gone before the end of the first week.