Serena possibly played her last tennis match on Friday when she was defeated by Australian Ajla Tomljanovic in the 2022 US Open third round. Twitter Sports later disclosed that Williams, a 23-time Grand Slam champion, is the most-tweeted-about female athlete ever in honor of her 27-year career.
“On the court and on the timeline, @serenawilliams is the greatest of all time,” Twitter added.
“Thank you so much, you guys were amazing today,” an emotional Serena told the crowd Friday night. “Wish I played a little bit better. Thank you daddy, I know you’re watching. Thanks mom. I just thank everyone that’s here, that’s been on my side so many years, decades. Oh my gosh, literally decades. But it all started with my parents, and they deserve everything, so I’m really grateful for them.
She added, “And I wouldn’t be Serena if there wasn’t Venus, so thank you Venus.”
Serena made her retirement announcement in an essay that appeared in Vogue back in August.
On the court and on the timeline, @serenawilliams is the greatest of all time.#Serena is the most Tweeted about female athlete ever.#ThankYouSerena pic.twitter.com/DPs12OyiPB
— Twitter Sports (@TwitterSports) September 3, 2022