Serena bids adieu to Toronto

author-image
ptcnetcanada
New Update
Williams final

The 23-time grand slam champion was defeated by Belinda Bencic 6-2, 6-4 in the second round of the National Bank Open in Toronto. A day after announcing her retirement from tennis, Serena Williams waved to the large crowd on Wednesday while holding a bouquet of flowers and wiping a tear from her eye.

"Like I said in my article, I'm terrible at goodbyes," she continues as her voice breaks.

"But, goodbye," she said, then adding with a laugh "Toronto."

"It's been a joy playing here all of those years."

Advertisment

In terms of the combined list of men's and women's singles champions of all time, Williams ranks second to Margaret Court of Australia with 23 Grand Slam singles victories. Additionally, she has won two mixed doubles championships and 14 Grand Slam doubles titles.

For the most part, everyone is still processing the news, especially those in the tennis world. Williams said in a first-person story published in Vogue Magazine the previous day that she would stop playing tennis after the U.S. Open in a bid to focus on growing her family.

Williams, who shared the magazine's cover on Instagram, stated that it was time for her to move “in a different direction.”

Williams, however, made it clear in the piece that she prefers the term "evolution" rather than "retirement"

A video tribute was presented for the audience prior to Williams' match. Before leaving the court, she was presented with jerseys from the NBA's Toronto Raptors and the NHL's Toronto Maple Leafs, as well as a child's version for her daughter Olympia.

"GOAT- Greatest of all time," "Canada loves Serena," "Thank you Serena," and "Welcome to the Williams Show!" were among the signs held by fans. A sign at the stadium read, "Serena plays tonight!" Everyone was fully cognizant. All of the phones were out, filming her final moments in this match.

Advertisment