Italian Open

Barty, the 2019 French Open winner, was leading 6-4 2-1 against her American opponent when she called a physio and had her right-arm strapped with a compression sleeve.

The Australian eventually decided against continuing the match in wet conditions in Rome, allowing Gauff to book a place in the final four.

Barty missed the 2020 claycourt swing due to the COVID-19 pandemic but has returned even stronger this season, winning the title in Stuttgart before finishing runner-up to Aryna Sabalenka in Madrid last week.

Playing her first competitive match in nearly three months, the 23-times Grand Slam champion twice came back from a break down but struggled on her first serve.

Defeat for Williams, who received an opening round bye in Rome, was a major blow to her preparations for the French Open, starting on May 30.

It was the American's 149th defeat in her 1,000 career WTA matches.

World number two Naomi Osaka also crashed out of the tournament, losing to American Jessica Pegula.

Djokovic overcame a sluggish start to lift his fifth Italian Open title, defeating Argentine Diego Schwartzman 7-5 6-3 for a record 36th ATP Masters crown

Playing his maiden ATP 1000 final, eighth seed Schwartzman raced out of the blocks to convert two break point opportunities for a 3-0 lead as Djokovic struggled to put a lid on his backhand errors.

An on-and-off drizzle at Foro Italico added to Djokovic's frustration but he still found a way past Schwartzman's serve to draw level at 3-3.