The time has come for Serena Williams to put down her racket…
After many successful years on the court and countless wins…
Serena Williams has played the final match of her career.
The star has come crashing out the US Open.
But, despite crying on the court following the match, Serena insisted they were “happy tears.”
Scroll on to find out more…
Now, Serena Williams has amassed over fifteen million Instagram followers and even more fans over the years.
She is a literal icon.
She has won a whopping twenty-three Grand Slam singles titles…
And, as a result, she is now considered one of the greatest female tennis players of all time.
Serena has been ranked as the No. 1 in singles on 8 separate occasions during her career…
And in total, she has been No. 1 for 319 weeks, which ranks third in the Open Era among female players behind Graf and Martina Navratilova.
Williams is understandably considered one of the greatest tennis players of all time…
And she’s one of the hardest players to beat.
And won’t let anyone stand in her way when it comes to topics that matter to her…
She advocates strongly for the equality of women — in particular, female athletes.
But it hasn’t been an easy ride to success…
During her women’s finals match against Naomi Osaka (who went on to win the title), the chair umpire, Carlos Ramos, gave Serena a violation for a supposed “code violation for coaching.”
She held her own during the heated confrontation…
And her strong words truly left a mark on the tennis court.
She was simply standing up for herself…
Pointing out that male tennis players get away with a lot more than what she was accused of and disciplined for.
Serena has had to get past a lot of obstacles to get where she is now…
Serena, as well as her sister Venus, have been scrutinized in the past for the way in which they wear their hair, as well as being cruelly trolled and discriminated against because of their race. Even though thousands have flooded to the Williams sisters’ defense, there’s no doubt that racism is still a huge problem.
Despite her ever-growing fan base…
There’s no doubting who her biggest fan is… And that is, of course, her daughter.
Serena Married her husband Alexis Ohanian back in 2017…
And just before their marriage, their daughter, Alexis Olympia Ohanian Jr. was born.
But her birth came with some terrifying complications.
And she opened up about her experience, and how nurses ignored her plea for help.
After complaining that she was struggling to breathe a day after having her daughter through C-section…
Serena came to the conclusion she was experiencing a pulmonary embolism, otherwise known as a blood clot, as she has fallen victim to them before.
She revealed in an interview with ELLE, that the hospital staff failed to listen to her concerns.
“So much of what happened after that is still a blur,” Williams shared. “I may have passed out a few times. In my haze, I wondered if I should ask someone about my drip. In 2010, I learned I had blood clots in my lungs — clots that, had they not been caught in time, could have killed me.”
Since her terrifying experience, she has always been cautious of getting another clot. “It wasn’t a one-off; I’m at high risk for blood clots. I asked a nurse, ‘When do I start my heparin drip? Shouldn’t I be on that now?’”
But the nurse’s response was less than satisfactory: “The response was, ‘Well, we don’t really know if that’s what you need to be on right now.’ No one was really listening to what I was saying,” she added.
After repeatedly asking her nurse over and over to be put on blood thinners and for a CT scan, she finally got a doctor to agree with her…
“I fought hard, and I ended up getting the CAT scan,” Williams said. “I’m so grateful to her. Lo and behold, I had a blood clot in my lungs, and they needed to insert a filter into my veins to break up the clot before it reached my heart.”
Being vocal about her experience has shone an important light on the treatment of marginalized groups during childbirth.
Many social media users have Williams Serena for speaking out…
Serena shared with ELLE that “black women are nearly three times more likely to die during or after childbirth than their white counterparts” here in the U.S.
More needs to be done to prevent this shocking statistic.
Recently, Williams confirmed she is hanging up her racket following the US Open.
“I have never liked the word retirement,” she began.
“Maybe the best word to describe what I’m up to is evolution.”
“I’m here to tell you that I’m evolving away from tennis, toward other things that are important to me.”
The US Open is now underway…
And the fans have been watching the tennis star in awe.
Williams served up a rather interesting look at the highly anticipated US Open.
As per reports, Williams turned up in a matching ensemble with her little one, Olympia.
The entire look was adorable and fans couldn’t stop gushing over the cuteness…
One Twitter user wrote: “Hey @usopen, how about a dedicated Olympia reaction camera? Who’s with me?” Not a bad idea, TBH. Give the fans what they really want and make it happen, U.S. Open!”
According to the Daily Mail, the mother and daughter duo sported diamond-encrusted black ensembles designed by Nike.
But that’s not all, Olympia also rocked the same gorgeous swinging beaded braids her mother is known for.
But now, the time has come…
Serena Williams has played the final match of her career as she comes crashing out of the US Open.
In the third round, Williams lost to World No. 46 Ajla Tomljanovic.
According to the Daily Mail, Williams lost the match 7-5, 6-7, 6-1.
The outlet reports that Williams spoke in an on-court interview following the match where she thanked those who supported her over the years.
Filled with emotion and tears in her eyes, the star said: “I tried but Ajla just played a little bit better.”
“Thank you, Daddy, I know you’re watching,” she continued. “Thanks, Mom. I just want to thank everyone that’s here, that’s been on my side, so many years, decades.”
“But it all started with my parents and they deserve everything, so I’m really grateful for them.”
Williams then thanked her sister, Venus, as she said: “I wouldn’t be Serena if it wasn’t Venus so thank you, Venus. She’s the only reason that Serena Williams ever existed.”
While also noting that the tears on her face were “‘happy tears I guess.”
As the interview came to a close, Williams said: “It’s been a fun ride, it’s been the most incredible ride and journey I’ve ever had in my life.”
“And I’m just so grateful to every single person that’s ever said “go Serena” in life. I’m just so grateful because it got me here.”
What an incredible career she’s had!