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Serena Williams Exits U.S. Open With Class, Likely Caps Off Legendary Career

The 23-time Grand Slam Champion fell to Ajla Tomljanovic 7-5, 6-7 (4), 6-1 on Friday night.

On Friday night (September 2), Serena Williams said her goodbyes in what will likely be her final Grand Slam tennis match in front of a sold-out crowd at Arthur Ashe Stadium.

The 23-time Grand Slam champion, who 23 years ago won her first major title at the U.S. Open, fell to Ajla Tomljanovic 7-5, 6-7 (4), 6-1. Afterward, Williams reflected on her career and thanked the people who she says made it possible.

"Thank you daddy, I know you're watching. Thanks mom," Williams said before crying during her post-match on-court interview. "Everyone that's here, that's been on my side, for so many years, decades. These are happy tears, I guess. I don't know. And I wouldn't be Serena if there wasn't Venus, so thank you Venus. She's the only reason Serena Williams ever existed ... It's been a fun ride. It's been the most incredible ride and journey I've ever been on."

In Vogue last month, Williams indicated that she would retire from tennis, admitting she had mixed feelings about the decision and knew it would be difficult to walk away from the sport that has defined so much of her legacy.

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"I don't want it to be over, but at the same time I'm ready for what's next," she wrote. "I don't know how I'm going to be able to look at this magazine when it comes out, knowing that this is it, the end of a story that started in Compton, California, with a little Black girl who just wanted to play tennis. This sport has given me so much."

Williams entered Friday’s matchup ranked 605th and with one win in nearly 15 months, but looked strong in her first two victorious matches earlier in the week at Flushing Meadows. She also held her own against Tomljanovic, hitting her with 115 mph serves and close net returns that had the crowd on their feet for most of the match.

Tomljanovic, a 29-year-old Australian ranked 46th, appeared to be unrattled by the crowd that was audibly and understandably rooting for Williams. She won the first set 7-5 before Serena rebutted with a tie-breaking second set victory.

During the third set, however, Williams began to look exhausted. And after winning the first game, she lost six-straight to close it out.

But it wasn’t without a fight. Down to the last game of the match, Williams fought off final set points time after time with the crowd cheering her on.

When asked during the post-match interview if she’d ever compete professionally again, Serena Williams did technically leave the door open, but noted that she wants to focus on her personal life more, at least in the near future.

“I don’t know, I’m not thinking about [playing again]. I always did love Australia though,” she said in reference to the Australian Open, the next Grand Slam event on the calendar. “Clearly I’m still capable, [but it] takes a lot more than that. I’m ready to, like, be a mom, explore a different version of Serena.”

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