The 36-year-old American barely broke sweat in a one-sided first set but was tested by the world number 135 in the second without ever looking troubled.
'I'm so humbled by the continuous support from my fans in Rome and I look forward to making my return soon.'
The American great came into what is expected to be her final tournament as a 50-1 long-shot to win the title but after upsetting world number two Anett Kontaveit on Wednesday she is now 14-1
If Williams is indeed 20 weeks into her term, that would mean she was approximately two months pregnant when she captured her record 23rd Grand Slam tournament singles title at the Australian Open in January.
Serena Williams and Naomi Osaka have long moved on from their tempestuous 2018 US Open title match but that will do nothing to dampen the suspense ahead of their blockbuster Australian Open semi-final on Thursday.
American sporting legends including Serena Williams, Michael Phelps and Nastia Liukin turned out witness Simone Biles go for a fifth Olympic gold medal on Tuesday as Biles-mania continued to grip Paris.
Storm Hunter and Elise Mertens picked up the Doubles Team of the Year award, China's Zheng Qinwen was named Most Improved Player while Russian Mirra Andreeva won Newcomer of the Year.
Serena Williams has defeated her compatriot in four straight matches since a defeat in the quarter-finals of the 2013 Australian Open.
Former world number one Serena Williams will not be seeded at this year's French Open, according to the organisers of the May 27-June 10 claycourt Grand Slam.
The 23-times grand slam winner made her comeback at Indian Wells in March and has not played since her opening round defeat by Japan's Naomi Osaka at the Miami Open.
Serena Williams survived another scare to beat older sister Venus 3-6, 6-3, 6-4 on Thursday in the latest instalment of their reluctant on-court sibling rivalry to reach the quarter-finals of the inaugural Top Seed Open in Lexington, Kentucky.
As the first day's play got under way, she posted a video clip on Instagram of her pounding backhands on a clay court despite being absent from the tour since winning the Australian Open in January as she is expecting her first child.
Tennis legend Serena Williams spent her first Christmas with her 3-month-old daughter, Alexis Olympia.
Serena Williams voiced concern for fellow tennis player Peng Shuai, who has not been seen publicly since she accused a former vice-premier of China, Zhang Gaoli, of sexual assault.
Australian Open champion Caroline Wozniacki has called for 23-time Grand slam winner Serena Williams to be seeded at next month's Wimbledon Championships ahead of the All England Club's meeting on Tuesday.
Vogue magazine, who were given exclusive rights to the photographs of the 'wedding of the year', put out some pictures from the Beauty and the Beast-themed wedding on their Instagram page.
In a rematch of their tumultuous 2018 US Open decider, Osaka underlined her status as the new queen of women's tennis and soaked up the cheers from the Rod Laver Arena crowd as fans returned to the Grand Slam after a five-day lockdown.
Serena's designs were created to celebrate "women who turn fear into courage and doubt into confidence."
Serena Williams was sent spinning out of the Western and Southern Open by Maria Sakkari on Tuesday after the Greek rallied from a set down to beat the 23-times Grand Slam champion 5-7, 7-6(5), 6-1 and reach the quarter-finals.
International Premier Tennis League founder Mahesh Bhupathi, one of India's most successful doubles player, confirmed the absence of the two star players.
The three-times champion, who gave birth last September and lost in the Wimbledon final 10 days ago, has not competed in Montreal since her run to the semi-finals in 2014 and last played the Rogers Cup in Toronto the following year.
As the 2025 French Open looms, all eyes may be on reigning champions and top seeds - but lurking just beneath the surface are several players quietly building momentum, ready to crash the party in Paris. From seasoned champions finding renewed form to rising stars with something to prove, here are four dark horses who could shake up the women's singles draw at Roland Garros.
Serena Williams was once again on the stage but this time it was her own fashion show during New York Fashion Week.
Jasmine Paolini's exit means only one of the top five women's seeds -- world number one Aryna Sabalenka -- will be in the third round. It is only the second time that this has happened in the professional era after Wimbledon 2018.
For Williams, the catsuit, she said, made her feel like a 'superhero', and the compression stockings she will wear for the duration of the tournament at Melbourne Park, have a more serious purpose.
Serena Williams said on Saturday the COVID-19 outbreak has not only given her a much needed stretch of downtime with her family, it has also turned her into a bit of a "neurotic" and "a recluse" given her past health scares.
Italian Roberta Vinci crushed the world number one's hope of completing a calendar grand slam by reaching the women's singles US Open final for the first time in her career.
Serena Williams 'almost died' after giving birth to her daughter last September, the former women's world number one tennis player wrote.
World number eight Williams, who captured the first of her six US Open titles two years before her 17-year-old opponent was born, spent the first half of the match trying to find her rhythm but when she did she was off to the races.
The mother of one arrived at the 2019 French Open making another fashion statement
The video shows Williams covering her breasts with her hands while singing the global hit song of an Australian Band, The Divinyls.
Serena was scheduled to face Bulgarian Tsvetana Pironkova.
Romania's Italian Open winner Simona Halep, Spain's Garbine Muguruza and US Open semi-final foe Victoria Azarenka of Belarus present a major challenge for Serena Williams at the upcoming French Open.
Serena Williams ended the fairytale run of Mirjana Lucic-Baroni at the Australian Open on Thursday with a crushing 6-2, 6-1 win that set up a final against her sister Venus.
Tennis star Serena Williams recently shared a photograph, showing off her killer curves in a beachwear.
Serena Williams aims to defend her Australian Open title next year, the American saying the rapid return to action would only give her around three months to prepare after giving birth to her first child.
She remained philosophical in defeat, however, saying that her expectations coming into the tournament had not been high.
There is no secret to beating Serena Williams, says her US Open semi-final opponent Victoria Azarenka, the only chance to win is to fight hard, execute well and remember the 23-times Grand Slam champion is never out of it, no matter the score.
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