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By Steve Almasy, CNN
3 minute read
Updated 1:14 AM EDT, Tue August 30, 2022
Serena Williams acknowledges the crowd after losing in the third round of the US Open on Friday, September 2.
People cheer on Williams at Arthur Ashe Stadium.
Williams reacts after losing to Ajla Tomljanović on Friday. "These are happy tears," Williams said during her on-court interview.
Williams motions a heart to her fans after the match on Friday.
Williams shakes hands with Tomljanović after the match.
Williams returns a shot on Friday. The match lasted a little more than three hours, and Williams fought off five match points in the final game.
Fans cheer on Williams on Friday.
Williams serves during Friday's match.
Williams' coach, Rennae Stubbs, and mother, Oracene Price, watch on Friday.
Williams returns a shot on Friday.
Williams reacts during Friday's match.
Tomljanović celebrates after winning the first set Friday.
Fans watch as Williams is introduced at Arthur Ashe Stadium on Friday.
Williams walks onto the court ahead of her match Friday.
Williams and her sister, Venus, played doubles together on Thursday. They lost in the first round, however, to Lucie Hradecka and Linda Noskova.
Williams, lower left, serves during Thursday's doubles match.
Williams takes pictures with fans at Arthur Ashe Stadium after her second-round singles win on Wednesday. She knocked off second-seeded Anett Kontaveit 7-6 (4), 2-6, 6-2.
Williams celebrates after her win Wednesday.
Williams reaches for a shot during Wednesday's match.
The fans at Arthur Ashe Stadium cheered every point Williams won on Wednesday, just as they did on Monday.
Williams watches a replay during Wednesday's match.
Williams prepares to serve Wednesday.
Golf legend Tiger Woods reacts to a Williams point on Wednesday.
Kontaveit, a 26-year-old from Estonia, returns a shot.
Williams reacts after winning the first set tiebreaker on Wednesday.
Williams has won six US Open singles titles during her illustrious career.
Williams serves during Wednesday's match.
Williams and Kontaveit pose before the start of their match.
Fans enter Arthur Ashe Stadium for Wednesday's match.
Williams' sister Venus, left, watches Wednesday's match near Woods and his partner, Erica Herman.
Williams walks onto the court before her match on Wednesday.
Fans at Arthur Ashe Stadium show their love for Williams after Monday's opening win over Danka Kovinic.
Tennis icon Billie Jean King congratulates Williams after Monday's match. King also spoke during a post-ceremony recognizing Williams and her tremendous career.
The crowd was firmly in Williams' corner on Monday, cheering every point she won.
Williams reacts during the match on Monday.
Fans outside the stadium watch the Williams match on a video screen Monday.
Williams returns a shot on Monday. It was just her second win since her return to the sport in June. She had missed a year through injury.
Fans cheer for Williams during Monday's match.
Williams' daughter, Olympia, takes a picture before her mom's match on Monday.
Williams serves during Monday's match.
Williams and Kovinic pose for photos before playing Monday. Kovinic, a 27-year-old from Montenegro, is ranked 80th in the world.
Williams walks onto the court before her match Monday. Many consider her to be the greatest women's tennis player of all time.
Williams has been wearing diamond-encrusted shoes during the tournament.
Williams warms up before her match on Monday.
Williams' husband, Alexis Ohanian, watches Monday's match with their daughter, Olympia.
Fans show their support for Williams outside the stadium Monday.
Williams walks to the practice court before her match on Monday.
Fans pose for photos next to a life-sized image of Williams on Monday.
In pictures: Serena Williams' final act
CNN —
Serena Williams, playing in what is likely the final tennis tournament of her storied career, opened singles play with a 6-3, 6-3 victory over Danka Kovinić in the first round of the US Open at Arthur Ashe Stadium.
Williams will open doubles play with her sister Venus on Wednesday.
Williams will face world No. 2 Anett Kontaveit of Estonia in the singles round of 64, also on Wednesday. It will be their first career meeting.
After early struggles with her serve Monday evening, Williams took 10 of the final 13 games against Kovinić, a 27-year-old from Montenegro who is ranked 80th in the world.
After the match, during a ceremony celebrating her tennis career, Williams said she got a boost from the vocal crowd of almost 24,000 people. “The crowd was crazy,” she said.
Williams double-faulted twice in the first game but eventually upped her first serve percentage to 66%. She won 33 of 43 first serve points.
A key moment came in the sixth game of the first set when Kovinić appeared on the verge of a 4-2 lead. But a Williams shot that looked long and wide was neither, nipping the back of the baseline and outside edge of the singles sideline. It was the first of 11 straight points for Williams as she coasted the rest of the way.
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Reporter: Serena Williams played inspired tennis in US Open match
01:25 - Source: CNN
It was Williams’ third match since announcing she will “evolve away from tennis.”
“I have never liked the word retirement. It doesn’t feel like a modern word to me. I’ve been thinking of this as a transition, but I want to be sensitive about how I use that word, which means something very specific and important to a community of people,” Williams said in a Vogue article published earlier this month.
“Maybe the best word to describe what I’m up to is evolution. I’m here to tell you that I’m evolving away from tennis, toward other things that are important to me,” she said.
At her post-match news conference, she was asked if this is definitely her last tournament.
“Yeah, I’ve been pretty vague about it, right?” she said with a smile. “I’m going to stay vague because you never know.”
But earlier on the court, Williams, 40, said it was a difficult decision to move on.
“I think when you’re passionate about something and you love something so much, it’s always hard to walk away,” she said. “Sometimes I think it’s hard to walk away than to not. That’s been the case for me.”
When asked by Gayle King what winning will be for her in the future, Williams pointed to her venture capital company and also said she wants to work on her spiritual life.
Williams’ singles win was witnessed by her husband, Alexis Ohanian, and their daughter, Olympia, with the youngster wearing white beads in her hair, reminiscent of Williams’ look when she won the first of her six US Open titles as a teenager in 1999.
“I look forward to waking up and just being like, OK, I don’t have to run to the court today,” Williams said. “I look forward to just being a mom. She’s such a good girl. I just want to be a good mom to her.”
Also on Monday, Daria Snigur of Ukraine, who won qualifying matches to get into the tournament, upset No. 7 seed Simona Halep of Romania in three sets 6-2, 0-6, 6-4.
“This match for Ukraine, for my family, for all fans who supported me. I want to say thank you all,” an emotional Snigur said.
It was Snigur’s first-ever Grand Slam match at this level. She won the Wimbledon girls’ singles title in 2019.
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See how Serena Williams became one of the all-time greats
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CNN’s Jill Martin contributed to this report.
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