Shaheer Ahmed
With one final twirl, Serena Williams seemingly waved farewell to tennis Friday night following her third-round loss to Ajla Tomljanović at the U.S. Open. Since Williams, a 23-time Grand Slam champion, revealed in early August that she would be “growing away” from the game, many fans dreaded seeing her leave the court in loss. Williams, the victorious rival, appeared to give a ray of optimism that her career would not be ended right away.
"I'm ready to be a mom and explore a different version of Serena."
Simply the best ❤️🐐 #SerenaWilliams
(🎥: @usopen)pic.twitter.com/TbGue9cwWX
— Sports Illustrated (@SInow) September 3, 2022
“I’m ready to, like, be a mom, explore a different version of Serena. Technically in the world I’m still super young, so I want to have a little bit of a life while I’m still walking,” said Serena at a press conference post the match.
However, it has been a challenging year for Serena since she made her return less than three months ago from a torn hamstring she sustained at Wimbledon in June 2021. After winning a doubles match at a Wimbledon 2022 tune-up tournament this past June, Williams was eliminated in the first-round of The Championships by Harmony Tan.
The legend broke down whole speaking after the match. She said, “Oh my god! Thank you so much. You guys were amazing today. Thank you daddy, I know you are watching. Thanks mom. It all started with my parents and I am very grateful for them. These are happy tears. I would not be Serena if there was no Venus.”
Serena Williams retires after having won 92 matches in Australian Open, 69 in French Open, 98 at the prestigious Wimbledon and 108 wins at her home Grand Slam US Open. She has won a record total of 23 Grand Slam titles.
