Serena Williams’ legendary tennis career likely over after third-round singles’ play loss at US Open
Serena Williams’s legendary tennis career likely over after third-round singles’ loss to Maria Sharapova at the U.S. Open on Sunday.
The No. 1-ranked, seven-time Grand Slam champion, a world-class player and one of the most gifted women ever to compete in tennis, took a double-fault in her opening game when she lost her balance and slid onto the grass in front of the chair-side box at Arthur Ashe Stadium. Williams suffered the rare defeat that put an end to her career, which spanned 22 years, the longest of any active female player.
On Tuesday at a news conference in her hometown of St. Louis, Williams apologized for the defeat, saying, “I’m a little bitter about this.” She said she had tried to take the match in her stride.
“We came out of the court with a lot of energy. Everybody gave me a lot of support. I just made an error,” Williams said.
She said she had “made a misstep” while running into a fence behind her chair.
“I don’t think anybody saw [it],” she said. “My goal is to continue to play and try to enjoy these moments that [have] gone by quickly,” she said.
Sharapova won the third set in a tiebreaker to take the 3-0 lead. She then won the final four games of the match in an epic comeback to stun Williams for the first set, and then again for the final set.
“I told her right after the match that I felt like I should have won,” Sharapova said after the match. “I think part of the reason I did is because she was so committed. I don’t think there’s any way to say I’m better than Serena, but I have a lot better touch from what we saw. I don’t know why, it’s just in the moment of the match, but I think there’s a little bit of that.”
Sharapova, who has won the U.S. Open this year and has six titles in the past seven years, will play
