On Friday, September 2, Serena Williams played her final match at the US Open in the USTA Billie Jean King National Tennis Center in Queens, New York. 

Her career lasted 27 years and included 23 Grand Slam singles titles. She is thought to have changed the game of tennis due to her skill and personality. Jeffery Holman, HMHS tennis coach, remarks, “She had a style of play that captured peoples’ attention and interest and brought a lot of fans into the stadiums to watch her play.” 

Holman was not surprised by Serena’s retirement. Serena gave birth to her first daughter in 2017. Holman states “It’s hard to be a mother, which is a full time job, and a tennis player which is a full time job.”

 Many fans are speculating about how the game will change again in her absence. Serena began tennis at age 14 and over her career has earned four Olympic gold medals. Many believe Serena is a representation of how someone can achieve great things despite coming from an unprivileged and underrepresented community. Holman includes, “Serena showed that you can come from different backgrounds that might have been historically underrepresented in tennis, and you can still be successful.”