Story by Mark Musgrave III, Sports Editor

In a year when we are all recovering from the pandemic, the G.O.A.T. in professional tennis has decided to call it quits on her career.

Serena Williams fell in the third round of the US Open to Ajla Tomljanovic of Australia by a score of 7-5, 6-7: Tie-Break 4-7, 6-1 in Women’s Singles. The energy this crowd brought to watch Serena was unmatched with various chants. However, at 42 years old, Serena is not as strong as she once was in her prime. With dozens of points on deuce, and the match lasting over three hours total, the fatigue most certainly got to her. Serena absolutely gave her best effort in her final match, with 11 aces and lots of nasty drop shots while winning most of her points at the net and off of her first serve. Even though she was dominant, Ajla still won in the end.

According to the New York Times, Serena prepared for this US Open differently than others. She incorporated new footwork, coaching techniques, analytics and even doubles practice matches with her sister Venus. It had worked to an extent, getting her all the way to the third round of singles. This is tied for her lowest performance at the US Open since 1998.

Serena Williams is also a religious athlete as well, just like many athletes here at Aquinas. She currently is in practice with the Jehovah’s Witness faith, a denomination within Christianity, and has thanked “Jehovah God” after multiple championship wins.

A true role model for millions of Americans, Serena Williams will not be forgotten. Her impact on the game of tennis has been legendary, including the third fastest female serve of all time at 128.6 mph, three Olympic gold Medals and 23 Grand Slam titles (her first at the age of 17, and last in 2017 against her sister Venus). The elevation she brought to this sport is unmatched. 

Serena Williams.

The greatest female tennis player of all time.