This week marked the end of an era in black tennis. I will not use the word retire because as quoted in numerous articles, American tennis legend Serena Williams hates it.
Her calling it quits after being knocked out in straight sets at the Canadian Open symbolises the bowing out of one of the most illustrious careers by a black athlete. As she intimated, she was ready to grow her family. She is married with one daughter, Olympia.
With her sister Venus, the Williams sisters gave hope to many a black girl to take up and succeed in the predominantly white sport, with the diligent guidance of her father, “Richard” Williams.
Serena in particular followed in the footsteps of just a few black tennis players to rise against the odds to become icons. Who can forget the exploits of her world-famous compatriots Althea Gibson and Arthur Ashe?
In an article in Vogue magazine, Serena poured her heart out as she announced the end of her tennis career but was wavering on when exactly it will come to an end. Will the next US Open be her swan song?
With 23 grand slam titles under her belt, she won’t be able to match Margaret Court’s all-time record of winning all the slams at least three times.
Apart from the 23 major titles, Serena’s career highlight is spending 319 weeks at the top of the world rankings from February 2013 to September 2016, grossing a handsome $95-million in prize money.
Through the microphones of Sky Sports News, Greg Rusedski paid tribute to one of the greatest athletes ever. “No question about it, Serena Williams is the greatest male or female tennis player at the moment.
“She has the most majors in the Open era; you’ve got to look at the depth of the game and the generation she’s gone through as well,” former British No 1 Rusedski said.
“She is a complete athlete. She’s box office .”
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