3-time major champ Kerber loses at French Open

Germany's Angelique Kerber. Credit: AFP Photo

Three-time Grand Slam champion and former No. 1 Angelique Kerber already is gone from the French Open with a third consecutive first-round loss.

The 26th-seeded Kerber was beaten 6-2, 6-4 to Anhelina Kalinina, a qualifier from Ukraine ranked 139th making her tournament debut.

Roland Garros is the only Grand Slam title that Kerber hasn't won, and she's frequently struggled on its red clay.

Her defeat on Court 14 on the opening Sunday was the eighth time in 14 appearances in Paris that she has exited in the first round.

Kerber's best results in Paris were reaching the quarterfinals in 2012 and 2018.

She won the Australian Open and US Open in 2016 and Wimbledon in 2018.