Serena Williams knocked out of U.S. Open semifinals, will lose No. 1 ranking


Karolina Pliskova defeated Serena Williams during the U.S. Open semifinals Thursday, 6-2, 7-6, becoming the fourth person to beat Williams and her sister, Venus, in the same Grand Slam.
Williams was eyeing her 23rd Grand Slam title and seventh U.S. Open championship. Last year, she was also beaten in the U.S. Open semifinals, and with her defeat, Williams lost the No. 1 ranking she has held for a record-tying 186 weeks; when the new rankings are released on Monday, Angelique Kerber will move up to No. 1.
Pliskova, 24, of the Czech Republic, is the No. 10 seed, and will play either Kerber or Caroline Wozniacki in the championship on Saturday. "I had a goal today, to beat Serena," she said after the game. "And that's what I did. I don't believe it. Actually, I do believe it. I knew I could beat anyone if I'm playing my game."
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Catherine Garcia has worked as a senior writer at The Week since 2014. Her writing and reporting have appeared in Entertainment Weekly, The New York Times, Wirecutter, NBC News and "The Book of Jezebel," among others. She's a graduate of the University of Redlands and the Columbia University Graduate School of Journalism.
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