Rio Olympics 2016: Williams sisters crash out in first round of women’s doubles
Shock as favourites for gold are dumped out of Games as illness strikes Venus
THE WILLIAMS SISTERS lost their Olympic crown in a shock first round defeat.
Czech pair Lucie Safarova and Barbora Strycova dethroned the reigning champions 6-3 6-4 to complete a miserable Games for Venus.
The older Williams had already fallen at the first hurdle of the singles after suffering from a virus.
And she and Serena caught a cold against the Czechs.
A comeback seemed possible when the Williams pair retrieved a second-set break.
But their Olympic reign, which goes all the way back to their win in Beijing in 2008, was cut short.
Serena still has hopes of defending her singles title after a straight sets win over Australia’s Daria Gavrilova earlier in the day.