Celebrities, media and tech companies, fellow tennis players and millions of ordinary people have showered tennis legend Serena Williams with praises for an amazing tennis career that is believed to have come to an end with a loss in the third round of the US Open tournament in New York.
Serena announced that she was evolving away from Tennis to concentrate on other things including expanding her family and growing her business.
With 23 grand slam titles and over 70 singles trophies, the American has achieved more wins in the longest period of any sportswoman in competitive sport.
As she played at her last US Open over the last couple of days, the Serena magic captivated the global tennis audience while global media organizations dedicated hours and lengthy tributes to the woman whom many consider to be the greatest tennis player of all time.
During her last match, Serena treated her followers to some of her memorable power and resilience in a game that lasted 3 hours.
An electric atmosphere characterized with the presence of celebrities such as former president Bill Clinton, Tiger Woods and fashion icon Kim Kadashian surrounded the Arthur Ashe stadium in New York during her game against second seed Anett Kontaveit.
In the end however, the effects of old age proved too much for the 40 year old Serena to overcome and she eventually had to fall to the 29 year-old Australian Ajla Tomljanovic in three sets.
Serena’s announcement of her retirement after 27 years of playing professional tennis came with achievements many think will be hard to replicate.
Talk Show queen Oprah Winfrey said:
Singer John Legend also tweeted: “Salute the GOAT @serenawilliams. What a riveting final bow. Such a gift to watch her incredible career.”
Ugandan Allan Kasujja, working with BBC also commented saying: ” In my books @serenawilliams is the greatest athlete of all time. She sealed it when she won a grand slam in 2017 (Oz Open) while 8 weeks pregnant. Her 23rd. She was 35!”
