NEW YORK: When Serena Williams made her US Open debut 24 years ago, Boyzone was at the top of the charts and more than a fifth of the women's top 100 had not yet been born.
Williams, who was already a tennis superstar in the making at the age of 16, will be honoured as such at Flushing Meadows as she concludes one of the greatest athletic careers.
Williams, who is just a few weeks away from turning 41 and is eager to concentrate on attempting to conceive a second child, has regretfully decided that the time has come to put her racquet away. Williams remained the dominant woman on the tour despite playing less frequently recently with competitors like Naomi Osaka, Ashleigh Barty, and Iga Swiatek making claims to the top spot. Her departure will leave an unfillable void.
The majority of her New York rivals have only ever played tennis with Williams.
Madison Keys, a former US Open semifinalist, stated to the PA news agency: "Being able to compete against Serena on the tour multiple times was a dream come true for me because I grew up watching her and have always admired her. Those matches remain some of my all-time favourite matches to play and some of the most emotional experiences I've ever had while playing tennis.
"Although I will miss seeing her play tennis, I believe she will still accomplish amazing things. "She doesn't want to use the word retiring, and I'm not going to either. I believe it's really really evolving into the next stage of her life, and I think it's going to be wonderful and extremely successful, as with everything she does," the author said. Williams has a number of business endeavours in addition to her responsibilities to her family, including an investing firm that appears to be at the forefront of what she does going forward.
World Cadet Judo Championship: Teenaged judoka Linthoi Chanambam scripts history
Rahul's big statement on 'IND vs PAK' Sunday match, said- Plan is ready for 10 months
Glenn Maxwell Discusses Australia’s Old Aggresive Cricket Culture, says it made him uneasy
