William Montgomery Cerf is an avid tennis fan and contributor to several publications. In today's article, William Montgomery Cerf looks back on Serena William's life and career, her final match at the US Open, and becoming the greatest tennis player of all time.
Serena Williams, deemed the most remarkable women's tennis player in the sport's history by many, ended her adrenaline-pumping playing career on September 2, 2022, at the US Open. The 40-year-old bowed out at Flushing Meadows with a 108-15 overall record, achieving six women's singles titles (a record), finishing runner-up four times, and always making it to at least the fourth round in 19 of 21 New York appearances.
Her final US Open appearance may not have ended how this all-star was hoping, but it was an eventful end to an eventful career. William Montgomery Cerf looks back at Serena's astonishing career below.
An Adrenaline-Fueled Face-Off to End Serena Williams' Playing Career
Serena Williams' final match lasted almost three hours against A. Tomljonovic, a successful Australian tennis player, at the Ashe Stadium in New York. She was on her way to getting that record-tying 24th Grand Slam title, but the long-winded match ended 7-5-6-7 (4) 6-1 in favor of Tomljonovic.
The flood of emotions following her loss was palpable, but Williams' matches beforehand had been phenomenal.
The Greatest Grand Slammer Since 1968
William Montgomery Cerf says that Williams had beaten D. Kovinic (a Montenegro player) and A. Kontaveit (an Estonian player) in the Open's first and second rounds, picking against Tomljonovic for the third.
Her fans hoped Williams would achieve her 24th Grand Slam title to round out her glorious career and tie with Margret Courts' 24 record (the sport's history record), but it wasn't meant to be.
Despite this, Williams is still the best Grand Slammer since 1968, when the Open era began.
At the end of her final match, A. Tomljonovic said she felt like the evil one for winning. However, she noted how honored she was to play against the tennis legend during her last career game.
Serena Williams' Match Intentions
William Montgomery Cerf says that on August 9, 2022, Serena Williams declared her intention to bow out from professional tennis following her Open appearance. Fans were shocked but ultimately appreciated the tennis star's desire to craft a beautifully successful family life.
Her personal essay, published by Vogue, declared her intentions going into her final US Open rounds.
Williams noted that she didn't think she'd win this year's Open. However, she also honestly expressed she'd be lying if she said she wasn't lusting to match Court's 24 title wins explains William Montgomery Cerf.
She Truly is The GOAT of the Game
Following her declaration, fans reignited the GOAT debate is Serena Williams really the Greatest of All Time?
The answer is unsurprising; it's clear she's one of America's finest tennis talents. In fact, William Montgomery Cerf explains that she won more Grand Slam titles during the Open era than any other player, male or female, and holds the not-often-seen accolade of matching and/or surpassing her male counterparts.
Statista used ESPN, ATP, and WTA sources to compare this tennis champ with others to prove Williams truly is the game's GOAT. Here's the number of Grand Slam singles titles won in the Open Era beginning in 1968:
Williams' wonderful career had her sitting at the dizzying heights of WTA's top-ranking spot for a whopping 319 weeks, holding the number one placement for 186 weeks consecutively, earning her a joint record with Steffi Graf.
But like any significant sportsperson's career, it hasn't all been sunshine and roses. William Montgomery Cerf says her journey has suffered controversies, but ultimately, she always came through it.
The Beginning
Serena Williams turned professional at the tender age of 14 in 1995 during the Bell Challenge, where she ended up losing to Annie Miller.
Not one to be discouraged, she made the main draw at the Australian Open in 1998 at just 16 years old. Beating Irina Spirlea, she made it to the first round against her sister, Venus Williams, who beat her.
But during the same year, she won her first Grand Slam doubles title with Max Mirnyi.
In 2000, Williams got her first of four Olympic golds with Venus in the doubles category.
However, the following year, her father claimed racial abuse from fans as her sister withdrew from the semi-final at Indian Wells.
Thankfully, the controversy cleared, and Serena won the Wimbledon and French Open titles in 2002, continuing to succeed for years to come.
To The End
Despite the tear-jerking loss at her final US open appearance, Serena Williams ends her career with many successes, including 6 US Open titles, 73 singles titles, 3 French Open titles, 7 Australian Open Titles, 4 Olympic gold medals, 23 doubles titles, and 186 consecutive weeks at number one.
