Serena Williams says she had "tears streaming down" her face as she wrote her farewell letter to fans, and expects to feel similar emotions during the upcoming US Open - her probable final career tournament.
Williams revealed her decision to "evolve away" from tennis on August 9, citing a wish to grow her family and concentrate on her burgeoning business career. As such, an appearance in New York will bring the curtain down on her illustrious career that has yielded 23 Grand Slam singles titles, and 50 more besides.
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However, as she admitted while talking on the Archetypes podcast to Meghan Markle, the decision was one she agonized over.
"It wasn't very easy," admitted the 23-time Grand Slam champion. "I was in Switzerland, I was just sitting in the hotel at the desk just typing and deleting and typing and thinking and then crying and tears streaming down my face as I'm writing these words and going back on these memories. It was really hard."
Furthermore, Williams was candid about how she is looking ahead to her final bow at Flushing Meadows, whilst retaining hope she can progress through the draw.
"I definitely will be very emotional," the 40-year-old said. "How am I not gonna cry? Maybe if I hopefully can get through a couple of matches, then maybe I'll feel better but I think initially it's going to be hard because every time I step out there, it's literally my last time.
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"All the support that I've gotten over the years, I couldn't have ever dreamed of it, and to hear everyone's so happy and so intense.
"I'm just from Compton and I never visioned that this would be me. I was just the youngest of five in a two-bedroom home, so to have people really supporting has been the most amazing experience and the most amazing ride and and I am so grateful for every moment that everyone has been there for."
Growing up in a household where soccer was king, my earliest memories are filled with chants from packed stadiums and the rhythm of a ball being passed across neighborhood streets. But somewhere along the way, the quiet elegance and raw emotion of tennis pulled me in. What began as a curiosity became a lifelong passion; not just for the sport itself, but for the stories it tells: of grit, of heartbreak, of improbable comebacks and human resilience.
As a tennis writer, I bring the observational lens of someone who didn’t grow up in the sport, but fell in love with it as an outsider; a perspective that lets me see both its technical beauty and its emotional depth. Over the years working with TennisUpToDate, I’ve had the privilege of reaching more than 3.5 million readers worldwide, with one of my features ranking among the site’s top three articles.
With a background in storytelling and a creative mind always searching for meaning beyond the scoreboard, I aim to craft narratives that go deeper than results and rankings. Whether it’s a rising star breaking through or a veteran fighting off Father Time, I try to capture the heartbeat behind the headlines.
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mandoist08-11-2026 - Wtf? Why is there no reason? And what about the men's?Bel08-11-2026
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