Serena Williams saw her hopes of ending her sterling career with a Grand Slam win dashed Saturday morning as she lost in the third round of the U.S. Open to Australian Ajla Tomljanovic.
Following her first two victory against Danka Kovinic and Anett Kontaveit, millions of fans around the world began to hope for a fairytale end to what has been a successful career. Still, it wasn’t to be, as she lost 5-7, 7-6, 1-6 to the gritty Australian.
Speaking to the crowd at the end, Serena said, “Thank you so much. You guys were amazing. I tried. Thank you, Daddy. I know you’re watching. Thanks, Mom.
“I just thank everyone that’s here, that’s been on my side for so many years, literally decades, But it all started with my parents, and they deserve everything, so I’m really grateful for them. And I wouldn’t be Serena if there wasn’t Venus, so thank you, Venus. It’s been a fun ride.”
The 40-year-old played her first professional tennis match in 1995 and went on to win 23 Grand Slam titles as well as hold the record for the joint most amount of time spent as World number 1.