Serena Williams says goodbye Famous tennis player resigns from professional competition after 27 years

Grace Warner Reporter

Athlete, businesswoman, writer and fashion designer are four words that only begin to describe famous tennis player, Serena Williams. After serving a career of over 27 years, and winning countless titles, Williams decided to retire from professional tennis this past week.

Williams’ legendary career began with her first Grand Slam win in 1998 at the Australian Open, skyrocketing her fame and setting her career in motion. Since 1998, Williams has followed with victories of over 73 titles participating in competitions like the Grand Slam, the US Open, Wimbledon, the Olympics, and many more.

In August of 2022, it was announced that Williams’ last tournament would commence at the US Open. The tournament proved to provide ample competition, and Williams’ lost her last match against Australian tennis player, Ajla Tomljanovic. Williams ended her spectacular career, and is ready to spend time with her family according to a Vogue article.

“I have never liked the word retirement. It doesn’t feel like a modern word to me. I’ve been thinking of this as a transition, but I want to be sensitive about how I use that word, which means something very specific and important to a community of people,” Williams said. “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 ten- nis, toward other things that are important to me.”

Audiences around the world watched Williams as she said goodbye for the last time. Students reflect on Williams’ lasting impact.

“I’ve watched Serena ever since I was little, and she’s always been a powerful influence and figure to look up to,” senior Noor El Qadah said. “I know that girls across the world will continue to look up to her even after her tennis career has ended.”

When Williams is off the court she uses her platform to speak out about equality, feminism, and equal pay in sports. In an interview with Huffpost, Williams reflects about her activism in recent years.

“I think we’ve made really big steps, but I also think we’ve got a really long way to go. Just across the board, women’s sports whether you’re thinking of tennis or soccer or basketball there’s so much space to improve on them,” Williams said, “and it’s important to realize that, yeah, we’ve come a long way but we’re not done, and we have a really big way to go.”

Williams’ last competition at the US Open garnered close to 888,000 people. Her skill and presence was awe-inspiring according to sophomore, Meghan Jeffries, who was in attendance.

“Watching Serena play is seriously one of the coolest things I’ve ever seen,” Jeffries said. “She has much talent and poise that carries into her play, and I’m so lucky to have been able to watch her.”

Williams’ message to work hard to achieve aspirations, and to empower girls is demonstrated on and off the court.

“Obviously she has brought so much to the tennis world, but she also signifies this figure of strength,” El Qadah said. “She’s an inspiration and will continue to be for a very long time, not just for girls but for everyone who feels like they don’t have a voice.”