"Having her retire was almost like a part of me was being gone" - 11-time Grand Slam champion opens up on Serena Williams' retirement

WTA legend Serena Williams retired at the US Open and former player Lisa Raymond was deeply affected by the news and the retirement that followed.

Williams has insisted without wavering that her retirement was merely a natural progression with many doubting those words. She recently doubled down on this point by acknowledging that while many people mistakenly believed her US Open run to be her retirement, she is not retired and may come back.

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Lisa Raymond, a retired American tennis player who has 11 doubles Grand Slam titles to her name, spoke about Williams' impact following the 23-time Grand Slam champion's retirement.

"She was on tour the entire time I was playing," said Raymond in the latest episode of the Ben Shapiro podcast. "I played against Serena in singles, doubles, mixed. I was on Fed Cup teams with her, she was on a Fed Cup team I was coaching. Having Serena retire, it was almost like a part of me was being gone. She was such a part of my tennis career in so many ways.

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"What she's done for tennis and women in sports, it's just unreal. I certainly shed plenty of tears watching that last match and watching her play in that (US) Open."