The day after declaring her impending retirement, Serena Williams was full of emotion and admitted it had been a "pretty interesting 24 hours" for her.

Williams revealed on Tuesday in an article in Vogue that "the countdown has begun" for her retirement with this month's US Open set to be the 23-time major winner's last tournament.

The 40-year-old was knocked out of the Canadian Open on Wednesday by Belinda Bencic 6-2 6-4 and spoke after the match for the first time publicly since declaring her intention to retire.

"It was a lot of emotions obviously," Williams said during the on-court post-match interview.

"I've loved playing here [Toronto], I've always loved playing here. I wish I could have played better but Belinda played so well today.

"It's been a pretty interesting 24 hours."

Williams, who won the first of her 23 Grand Slam titles way back in 1999 at the US Open, was emotional about the reception from fans to her announcement.

"It's just been so memorable," Williams said.

"Like I said in my article, I'm terrible at goodbyes. But goodbye, Toronto."

Williams has already been named on the entry list for the US Open, which starts at Flushing Meadows at the end of August.

The former world number one had claimed her first WTA singles win in 430 days on Monday when she defeated Nuria Parrizas-Diaz in preparation for her US Open farewell.

Coco Gauff described Serena Williams as "the reason why I play tennis" as she paid tribute to the soon-to-retire great, declaring: "There will never be another Serena."

Williams, a 23-time grand slam champion, announced in a piece in Vogue on Tuesday that she would soon retire.

The 40-year-old did not provide a firm date for the end of her career, but hinted that she could bow out after the US Open, which begins at the end of August.

Williams had won her first singles match in over a year on Monday at the Canadian Open, yet she wrote of the need to now prioritise her family.

And Gauff, playing at the same event in Toronto, was not short of praise for a legend of the sport.

"She's just been playing forever, my whole life," Gauff said after beating Madison Brengle.

"The legacy that she's left throughout her tennis career is something that I don't think any other player can probably touch.

"I think that the legacy that she'll continue to leave throughout her life is something that can inspire many more generations."

Gauff, a highly talented 18-year-old, has no interest in any tag as the 'next Serena', although she can take inspiration from Williams in dealing with such pressure.

"I've learned a lot from them [Serena and sister Venus]," Gauff said.

"People always tell me that you're going to be 'next whatever', blah, blah, blah, and Serena has been considered the GOAT [greatest of all time] for at least the second half of her career, and she never succumbed to that pressure.

"I think she overcame it, and I think that's something I take from her and try to learn from it. Not that I'm at her level and experiencing the same pressure she is, but in the moment I try to emulate that.

"For me, I grew up watching her. That's the reason why I play tennis, and tennis being a predominantly white sport, it definitely helped a lot, because I saw somebody who looked like me dominating the game, and it made me believe I could dominate, too.

"She's the GOAT. And undisputed, too, in my opinion. But I don't think that's an opinion, it's a fact.

"Serena, for me, is the GOAT. The GOAT of all GOATs. There will never be another Serena."

Coco Gauff shined on the opening day of the Canadian Open on Tuesday, defeating American compatriot Madison Brengle 6-1 6-3 to move to a record of 14-4 from her past 18 matches.

Gauff, who has not lost to anyone ranked lower than world number 22 Amanda Anisimova since the Australian Open, continued that impressive record by cruising past world number 62 Brengle, winning 58 per cent (34-of-59) of her return points in a dominant showing.

Anisimova, who eliminated Gauff from Wimbledon, also made it through her first match unscathed as she defeated hometown Canadian Carol Zhao 6-1 6-3.

China's Qinweng Zheng put another dagger into the Canadians with her 3-6 7-6 (7-5) 6-4 win over Rebecca Marino, but Bianca Andreescu gave the fans something to cheer for as she upset world number nine and winner of this past week's Silicon Valley Classic Daria Kasatkina 7-6 (7-5) 6-4.

Spain's Sara Sorribes Tormo prevailed against American Claire Liu 7-6 (7-4) 2-6 7-6 (7-5) in a three-and-a-half-hour battle of attrition, while Australian qualifier Ajla Tomljanovic upset world number 16 Veronika Kudermetova 6-4 2-6 7-6 (7-4) in two-and-a-half hours.

It was a disappointing showing from world number 10 Emma Raducanu as she went down 7-6 (7-0) 6-2 to the reigning champion of this event, Italy's Camila Giorgi.

Naomi Osaka also will need an early flight home after being forced to retire against Estonia's Kaia Kanepi, pulling the plug due to a persistent back injury while trailing 7-6 (7-4) 3-0.

In the late session, Olympic gold medalist Belinda Bencic successfully navigated the challenge of Tereza Martincova 6-4 6-2 to book a second round fixture against Serena Williams, and world number four Maria Sakkari survived a scare to finish strong and defeat Sloane Stephens 6-2 4-6 6-2.

Nick Kyrgios set up a mouth-watering second-round showdown against world number one Daniil Medvedev after defeating Argentina's Sebastian Baez 6-4 6-4 in his opening match of the Canadian Open on Tuesday.

The in-form Kyrgios is coming off his first ATP singles title since 2019 after winning the Washington Open this past week, where he also won the doubles partnered with Jack Sock. 

Against Baez, he served all six of the match's aces to make it through unscathed, and he will now play the top-ranked Russian – who Kyrgios has beaten twice – although he dropped their third meeting at the Australian Open this year.

Dating back to the start of his Wimbledon run, where Kyrgios made his first grand slam final, the Australian has now won 13 of his past 14 matches, with the only loss coming in the Wimbledon final to Novak Djokovic.

Earlier on, 11th seed Matteo Berrettini was the first upset of the day as he went down 6-3 6-2 against Spain's Pablo Carreno-Busta, while fellow Spaniard Pedro Martinez had less success, getting bounced by France's Gael Monfils 7-6 (7-4) 3-6 6-2.

America's Tommy Paul delivered a gut-punch to his neighbours in the Great White North by eliminating Canada's own Vasek Pospisil 6-4 6-4, and his Canadian compatriot Alexis Galarneau also struggled in his 6-4 7-5 loss to Bulgaria's Grigor Dimitrov.

Marin Cilic showed why he is the 13th seed with a strong 6-3 6-2 win in his all-Croatian battle against Borna Coric, and American Maxim Cressy had similar success against Russia's Aslan Karatsev 6-4 6-4.

In a battle of the French it was Adrian Mannarino prevailing 6-3 6-3 against Arthur Rinderknech, and a pair of Englishmen made their way through unscathed as Daniel Evans won a back-and-forth contest against Filip Krajinovic 6-2 1-6 6-0, while Jack Draper returned to his rain-interrupted fixture against Hugo Gaston to finish the job 6-2 6-3.

Alex de Minaur ensured it would be a grim day for the Canadian fans as he eliminated Denis Shapovalov 7-5 7-6 (7-4), before Holger Rune fought off the challenge of Fabio Fognini to emerge a 6-3 7-5 winner.

In the late session, Roberto Bautista-Agut defeated Marcos Giron 7-6 (7-5) 6-3, ninth seed Cameron Norrie needed just over an hour for his straight sets 6-4 6-4 win over Brandon Nakashima, and Andy Murray had no answer for Taylor Fritz as he went down 6-1 6-3.

Yoshihito Nishioka's strong form held up after his runner-up finish at the Washington Open, cruising past Benoit Paire 6-2 6-3, while 25-year-old Botic van de Zanschulp continued his rise up the rankings with a 6-1 7-5 victory over Miomir Kecmanovic.

12th seed Diego Schwartzman needed three sets to navigate the challenge of Alejandro Davidovich Fokina 1-6 6-3 6-4, and Albert Ramos-Vinolas got the better of Belgium's David Goffin 7-6 (7-2) 6-2.

In the final match of the night, world number 10 Hubert Hurkacz responded to adversity in the second set to pull out a 6-3 6-7 (4-7) 6-2 win against Finland's Emil Ruusuvuori.

Serena Williams' long and illustrious tennis career is drawing to a close after the American confirmed on Tuesday that the countdown has begun.

Following a long piece in Vogue, Williams wrote of her plan to "move in a different direction" after "these next few weeks", suggesting the US Open – which begins in late August – will be her last outing.

Thanks to her success and brilliance on the court, Williams has become synonymous with tennis and is regarded by many as the greatest the women's sport has ever seen.

Yet, her seemingly imminent retirement cannot be seen as a shock. At the age of 40, Williams has persisted with tennis far longer than most do, and that is testament to her quality and enduring desire for success.

With Williams now reaching the end, Stats Perform takes a look at the key facts, stats and figures of her career; in other words, Serena's remarkable legacy.

Twenty-three… and counting?

Of course, the headline fact for Williams' career is her grand slam titles count.

She has won 23, which is more than anyone else in the Open era.

But she's still got one target left: matching Margaret Court. The Australian's 24 grand slam successes include nine won before the Open era began in 1968, though her overall total has been the benchmark ever since she claimed her final crown at the US Open in 1975.

Clearly, victory for Williams at Flushing Meadows would be the perfect farewell.

The finals hurdle

Even if Williams only reaches the championship match next month, she'll still be equalling a different record.

Assuming she does compete in Queens, Williams heads into the US Open having played in 33 grand slam finals, one more than Martina Navratilova.

But Chris Evert (34) sits out in front, and that record will remain hers for many, many years if Williams cannot reach the finale at Flushing Meadows.

Top of the pile

It's been a while now since Williams was last the highest-ranked player in the world, but in a way that only further highlights how remarkable her career has been.

She's spent 319 weeks ranked as world number one, which is behind only Steffi Graf (377) and Navratilova (332).

While many might have expected Williams to have been top of the pile for even longer, it's worth remembering how she's spent time out due to injuries and pregnancy, with her general involvement in top-level tennis decreasing after 2014 when she played 16 tournaments – in 2016 that halved to eight, and during no year since has she played in more.

Additionally, some will also be surprised to learn she actually only finished the year as the top-ranked female player five times. Nevertheless, that's still third to only Graf (eight) and Navratilova (seven).

Go hard or go home

Such has been Williams' quality, she was always considered a threat regardless of the surface – she's won each grand slam at least three times.

But there's no denying she was at her most lethal on hard courts.

She has won 48 WTA Tour-level titles on hard courts, which is 11 more than anyone else (Graf) in the Open era.

Those 48 come from a grand total of 73 across all surfaces, leaving her ranked fifth behind Navratilova (167), Evert (157), Graf (107) and Court (92).

Surface to say…

Williams' comfort on hard courts goes even further than that.

She's won 539 matches on the surface, making her one of just two female players to surpass 500 victories on one specific ground type.

Navratilova (600 on carpet) is the only other player to achieve the feat, with Serena's sister Venus (498 on hard) the closest to the 23-time grand slam champion.

The grass is greener

Despite that unrivalled excellence, hard courts may not be the surface many feel to be most synonymous with Williams, however.

Wimbledon is the tournament that would appear to be her favourite.

She's reached the final at SW19 11 times. Only Navratilova can better that record for the most finals at one tournament – though it's worth saying she contested the WTA Finals and Chicago 14 times each, Eastbourne 13 times and 12 at Wimbledon.

Serena Williams, the most decorated tennis player in the open era, has hinted at retirement following the US Open.

One day on from winning her first singles match in 430 days at the Canadian Open, the legendary 23-time grand slam winner confirmed she is "evolving away" from the sport in an interview with Vogue Magazine.

Williams, who is one grand slam title away from matching Margaret Court's all-time record, appears set for one last shot at matching that haul at Flushing Meadows.

With Williams likely to call time on a spectacular career following one last outing at her home slam, below are 10 key quotes from her interview with Vogue.

THE KEY QUOTES

Reluctancy to step away 

"I've been reluctant to admit to myself or anyone else that I have to move on from playing tennis. Alexis, my husband, and I have hardly talked about it; it's like a taboo topic.

"It's like it's not real until you say it out loud. It comes up, I get an uncomfortable lump in my throat, and I start to cry. The only person I've really gone there with is my therapist."

Evolution

"I have never liked the word 'retirement'. It doesn't feel like a modern word to me. I've been thinking of this as a transition, but I want to be sensitive about how I use that word, which means something very specific and important to a community of people.

"Maybe the best word to describe what I'm up to is 'evolution'. I'm here to tell you that I'm evolving away from tennis, towards other things that are important to me."

No joy in reaching a "crossroads"

"Ashleigh Barty was number one in the world when she left the sport this March, and I believe she really felt ready to move on. Caroline Wozniacki, who is one of my best friends, felt a sense of relief when she retired in 2020.

"Praise to these people, but I'm going to be honest. There is no happiness in this topic for me. I know it's not the usual thing to say, but I feel a great deal of pain. 

"I hate it. I hate that I have to be at this crossroads. I keep saying to myself, I wish it could be easy for me, but it's not. I'm torn. I don't want it to be over, but at the same time I'm ready for what's next."

Family life key

"I never wanted to have to choose between tennis and a family. I don't think it's fair. If I were a guy, I wouldn't be writing this because I'd be out there playing and winning while my wife was doing the physical labour of expanding our family. 

"Maybe I'd be more of a Tom Brady if I had that opportunity. Don't get me wrong, I love being a woman, and I loved every second of being pregnant.

"A lot of people don't realise that I was two months pregnant when I won the Australian Open in 2017. But I'm turning 41 this month, and something's got to give."

Wanting Court's record 

"There are people who say I'm not the GOAT [greatest of all time] because I didn't pass Margaret Court's record of 24 grand slam titles, which she achieved before the open era that began in 1968. 

"I'd be lying if I said I didn't want that record. Obviously I do."

Pride in "extraordinary" record

"If I'm in a grand slam final, then yes, I am thinking about that record. Maybe I thought about it too much, and that didn't help. 

"The way I see it, I should have had 30-plus grand slams. I had my chances after coming back from giving birth.

"But I didn't get there. 'Shoulda, woulda, coulda'. I didn't show up the way I should have or could have. But I showed up 23 times, and that's fine. Actually it's extraordinary."

Tiger's advice 

"This spring, I had the itch to get back on the court for the first time in seven months. I was talking to Tiger Woods, who's a friend, and I told him I needed his advice on my tennis career. He was adamant that I be a beast, the same way he is!"

"Magical" Wimbledon return

"It felt magical to pick up a racket again. And I was good. I was really good. I went back and forth about whether to play Wimbledon, and the US Open after that."

"I don’t know if I will be ready to win New York, but I'm going to try."

"Unfortunately I wasn't ready to win Wimbledon this year. And I don't know if I will be ready to win New York. But I'm going to try. And the lead-up tournaments will be fun. 

"I know there's a fan fantasy that I might have tied Margaret that day in London, then maybe beat her record in New York, and then at the trophy ceremony say, 'See ya!' But I'm not looking for some ceremonial, final on-court moment."

Inspiring female athletes

"I'd like to think that thanks to me, women athletes can be themselves. They can play with aggression and pump their fists. 

"They can wear what they want and say what they want and kick butt and be proud of it all."

Serena Williams has revealed she is about to retire from tennis, announcing "the countdown has begun" with the US Open seemingly set to be her final tournament.

With 23 grand slam singles titles, Williams is the most decorated player of the Open Era, but her most recent major success came at the 2017 Australian Open.

The 40-year-old is one title shy of Margaret Court's all-time record and appears set for one last shot at matching the Australian.

Williams wrote on Tuesday of her plan to "move in a different direction" after "these next few weeks" following a long piece in Vogue.

She has already been named on the entry list for the US Open, which starts at Flushing Meadows at the end of August.

Posting an image of her interview on Instagram, Williams said: "There comes a time in life when we have to decide to move in a different direction.

"That time is always hard when you love something so much. My goodness do I enjoy tennis.

"But now, the countdown has begun. I have to focus on being a mom, my spiritual goals and finally discovering a different but just as exciting Serena.

"I'm just going to relish these next few weeks."

Within the Vogue piece, she added: "I'm turning 41 this month, and something's got to give.

"I have never liked the word retirement. It doesn't feel like a modern word to me.

"I've been thinking of this as a transition, but I want to be sensitive about how I use that word, which means something very specific and important to a community of people.

"Maybe the best word to describe what I'm up to is evolution. I'm here to tell you that I'm evolving away from tennis, toward other things that are important to me."

Williams wrote at length about the reasons for her decision, saying: "I started a family. I want to grow that family."

The American great had hinted at this decision on Monday following her defeat of Nuria Parrizas-Diaz at the Canadian Open.

That was Williams' first singles win in 430 days, and she said: "I guess there's just a light at the end of the tunnel.

"I don't know, I'm getting closer to the light, so… lately that's been it for me. I can't wait to get to that light."

When asked what "the light" means to her, Williams responded: "Freedom." She added: "I can't do this forever."

Serena Williams has revealed she is about to retire from tennis, announcing "the countdown has begun" with the US Open seemingly set to be her final tournament.

With 23 grand slam singles titles, Williams is the most decorated player of the Open Era, but her most recent major success came at the 2017 Australian Open.

The 40-year-old is one title shy of Margaret Court's all-time record and appears set for one last shot at matching the Australian.

In a long piece in Vogue, Williams wrote of her plan to "move in a different direction" after "these next few weeks".

Williams has already been named on the entry list for the US Open, which starts at Flushing Meadows at the end of August.

Serena Williams highlighted the first day of the Canadian Open, defeating Nuria Parrizas-Diaz 6-3 6-4 for her first win since the 2021 French Open.

In doing so, Williams became the fourth player since 2000 to win a WTA-level main draw match after turning 40, joining sister Venus Williams, as well as Kimiko Date Krumm and Martina Navratilova.

She also claimed the all-time record for wins at the Canadian Open, with 35, now one more than Chris Evert.

"I guess there’s just a light at the end of the tunnel," Williams said after the match. "I don’t know, I’m getting closer to the light. Lately that's been it for me. I can’t wait to get to that light."

She added: "I love playing though, so it’s like amazing. But I can’t do this forever. Sometimes you just want to try your best to enjoy the moments and do the best that you can."

Williams' older sister Venus, 42, was beaten on Monday by Swiss Jil Teichmann 6-2 6-3 with the match finshing after midnight following a delayed start due to rain.

One of the three seeded players in action on Monday, 15th seed Simona Halep had no issues cruising through the challenge of Donna Vekic 6-0 6-2.

It was similarly smooth sailing for 14th seed Karolina Pliskova in her all-Czech showdown against Barbora Krejcikova, winning 6-3 6-4, while Latvian 16th seed Jelena Ostapenko handled the challenge of Ukraine's Anhelina Kalinina 6-4 6-2.

Kazakhstan's Elena Rybakina defeated in-form qualifier Marie Bouzkova 7-5 6-7 (3-7) 6-1, likely earning a shot at Coco Gauff if the American wins as a heavy favourite tomorrow, while Brazil's Beatriz Haddad Maia beat Italy's Martina Trevisan 6-2 2-6 6-2 in a meeting of two top-30 players.

In a pair of all-American battles, Sloane Stephens edged Sofia Kenin 6-2 7-6 (7-5) 7-5, and world number 187 Asia Muhammad upset world number 25 Madison Keys in straight sets 7-6 (7-5) 6-4.

Alize Cornet defeated her French compatriot Caroline Garcia 3-6 6-3 6-3, and Canada's Katherine Sebov was unable to get the job done in front of her home fans, going down 6-3 2-6 5-7 to Yulia Putintseva.

In better news for the Canadians, Leylah Fernandez won 6-4 6-7 (2-7) 6-3 over Storm Sanders, while veteran two-time Wimbledon winner Petra Kvitova was beaten by Alison Riske 6-2 4-6 6-3.

Finland's Emil Ruusuvuori collected a big-name scalp on the opening day of the Canadian Open, defeating three-time grand slam winner Stan Wawrinka 6-3 3-6 6-3 on Monday.

Although the 37-year-old Wawrinka is no longer at his best – ranked 322nd in the world – he still put up a strong fight against his 23-year-old opponent, creating eight break point opportunities in the match while facing nine.

Ruusuvuori will play eighth seed Hubert Hurkacz in the second round in a tough matchup, while Slovakia's Alex Molcan will play fourth seed Casper Ruud after defeating American Mackenzie McDonald 7-6 (7-1) 6-4.

Molcan's advantage was in his serve, winning 74 per cent (49-of-66) of his service points compared to 59 per cent (49-of-83) for McDonald.

In a clash between a pair of top-30 talents, Russia's Karen Khachanov got the better of Argentina's Francisco Cerundolo 7-6 (7-4) 5-7 6-3. He will play the winner between 13th seed Marin Cilic and Croatia's Borna Coric next.

Recent runner-up of the Atlanta Open Jenson Brooskby had no issues with Kazakhstan's Alexander Bublik, winning 6-2 6-3, and he will likely play Roberto Bautista-Agut in the second round as the Spaniard leads 7-6 (7-5) 2-1 with a break in the second set when a rain delay ended the day's play.

One of Canada's top hopes, Denis Shapovalov, will have his back up against the wall when his match resumes against Alex de Minaur, losing the first set 7-5, with the rain arriving in the middle of the second-set tiebreaker.

Jack Draper will head back onto the court with a set advantage against Hugo Gaston after winning the opener 6-2, although he will have to save a break point first up.

Serena Williams thinks she is "getting closer" to the light at the end of the tunnel after winning her first singles match in 430 days at the Canadian Open on Monday.

The 23-time grand slam champion beat Nuria Parrizas-Diaz 6-3 6-4 in the opening round in Toronto, securing her first singles victory since a defeat of Danielle Collins at the 2021 French Open.

Williams returned from a one-year absence at Wimbledon last month after recovering from injury, but was beaten by Harmony Tan in the first round.

The long-awaited win in Toronto was her first since turning 40 and it gave the American a timely lift ahead of the US Open.

"I guess there’s just a light at the end of the tunnel," she said. “I don’t know, I’m getting closer to the light, so… lately that's been it for me. I can’t wait to get to that light."

When asked what "the light" means to her, she responded "freedom".

"I love playing though, so it’s like, amazing," she added. "But, you know, I can’t do this forever. 

"Sometimes you just want to try your best to enjoy the moments, and do the best that you can."

Williams became just the fourth player since 2000 to win a WTA-Tour level main-draw match after turning 40, along with Martina Navratilova, Kimiko Date-Krumm and her sister Venus Williams.

It also gave her the all-time lead for wins at the Canadian Open in the Open Era, this being her 35th victory at the event to break her tie with Chris Evert.

Serena Williams secured her first singles win since the 2021 French Open on Monday as she beat Nuria Parrizas-Diaz at the Toronto Open.

Also her first victory since turning 40, Williams looked impressive as she beat her Spanish opponent 6-3 6-4 in just under two hours.

She even earned a standing ovation when facing break point in the fourth game of the second set, as she worked hard to stay in the point before smashing a trademark forehand winner to save the game.

Williams, whose last grand slam title came in 2017 at the Australian Open, will face either number 12 seed Belinda Bencic or Tereza Martincova in the second round.

She is competing in the tournament as part of preparations for the US Open, and sealed her first win since splitting with coach Patrick Mouratoglou.

The duo had worked together for 10 years, before Mouratoglou revealed they had gone their separate ways in April after Williams decided not to compete at the French Open, with Mouratoglou moving on to train Simona Halep instead.

Williams returned to action after almost a year away from the game in the WTA event in Eastbourne in June in the women's doubles, before competing in the singles at Wimbledon, losing to Harmony Tan in an exciting first round contest on Centre Court at SW19

The 23-time grand slam champion has been named on the entry list for the US Open having pulled out of last year's tournament with a torn hamstring, entering with a protected ranking of 16.

Daria Kasatkina continued her strong season on Sunday by defeating American Shelby Rogers 6-7 (2-7) 6-1 6-2 in the final of the Silicon Valley Classic.

Russia's Kasatkina made her deepest grand slam run earlier this year by reaching the semi-final of the French Open, where she lost to world number one Iga Swiatek, and with this singles title – the fifth of her WTA career – she has claimed a career-best ranking of ninth in the world.

Against Rogers, the story was how the effectiveness of Kasatkina's serve continued to improve the further the match went on.

In the hard-fought opening set, Kasatkina won just 53 per cent (26-of-49) of her service points, allowing two breaks of serve and then flailing in the tie-break to drop five consecutive points.

Something changed from that point on, with Kasatkina improving to take 69 per cent (18-of-26) of her service points in the second frame, and that jumped again to 76 per cent (16-of-21) in the decider as she either figured something out, or Rogers ran out of steam.

Kasatkina did not allow a single break point opportunity after the first set, while converting four of her six chances to take a double-break in both the second and third.

Rogers had not lost a single set in her four matches to make it to the final, putting the exclamation point on a terrific run from Kasatkina that included wins over world number 27 Elena Rybakina, world number six Aryna Sabalenka and world number three Paula Badosa.

Nick Kyrgios capped off a terrific week at the Washington Open by beating Yoshihito Nishioka 6-4 6-3 in the singles final, before combining with Jack Sock to also win the doubles 7-5 6-4 against the team of Ivan Dodig and Austin Krajicek.

In the singles, Kyrgios' serve was overpowering against his Japanese opponent, winning 76 per cent (38-of-50) of his points on serve, and saving the only break point opportunity he faced, which came early in the opening set.

His return game was also sharp, collecting breaks of serve in the first game of each set to snatch all the momentum and keep Nishioka on the back foot and chasing all day.

Kyrgios finished with 12 aces to Nishioka's three, and finished the match just like he started it with a break of serve.

It caps off a tournament where he dropped only one set in his six matches – against Frances Tiafoe in the quarter-final – to win his first singles title since this same event back in 2019.

Just a few hours later, Kyrgios was back on the court with Sock contesting the doubles final, with the pair saving both break points they faced. 

After an even start, Kyrgios and Sock broke late in the first set, and then struck again to break in the opening game of the second set, going on to serve things out comfortably, never allowing Dodig and Krajicek to even reach deuce against their serve.

In doing so, Kyrgios became the first player to ever sweep both the singles and doubles in Washington.

He only had one doubles title before this season – back at the Lyon Open in 2018, also partnered with Sock – but Kyrgios has now won three in the past eight months, emerging triumphant with fellow Australian Thanasi Kokkinakis at both the Australian Open and last month's Atlanta Open.

Liudmila Samsonova secured her second career singles title on the WTA Tour by defeating Kaia Kanepi in the final of the Citi Open.

Unseeded Russian Samsonova beat Estonian Kanepi 4-6 6-3 6-3 to take the title in Washington on Sunday.

It was Kanepi, the tournament's sixth seed, who struck first in a tight opening set with strong serving from both players, capitalising on the only break point opportunity in the 10th game.

While Samsonova won at least 70 per cent of her service points in each of the three sets, Kanepi's effectiveness dipped after the opener, with a 77 per cent (20-of-26) success rate in the first set, which dropped to 63 per cent (15-of-24) in the second and the third (12-of-19) to provide the Russian with an avenue back into the contest.

Kanepi led 3-2 in the second set, before Samsonova rattled off the next five games, securing a double break in the process and forcing a decider.

In a tight third frame, with Samsonova leading 4-3, she created three break point opportunities and only needed the first to grab a winning buffer, serving out the match for the title.

It is the 23-year-old's first singles title since her maiden victory at the German Open 14 months ago, and she only dropped two sets in the process while defeating fifth seed Elise Mertens, second seed Emma Raducanu, China's Wang Xiyu and Australia's Ajla Tomljanovic.