Serena Williams' Departure was a Struggle to the bitter end, just like her Career

In comparison to the audience's adoration for Serena Williams, the genuine screaming torrents of ovation that thundered down in Arthur Ashe Stadium, all of the celebrity tributes and voice-over videos were artificialities, rubbish. For the greatest women's tennis player in history, for the bravura thrust of her game, and for the now-full expanse of her reign, it came in full-throated cascades. As the 40-year-old took one final spin and wave before leaving, there were so many emotions hidden beneath the yelling and stomping.

From a poor kid to an all-time champion who politicized one of the Whitest and Fustiest of sports with her presence, it had been a long, occasionally controversial road. At age 17, in 1999, she won her first U.S. Open championship, the first of a Grand Slam record 23 victories. Just three weeks away from turning 41, she battled with her trademark ferocity for three sets and saved five match points with a variety of huge but exhausting cuts at the tennis ball before falling to Ajla Tomljanovic, 7-5, 6-7 (7-4), 6-1, in what was almost certainly her final major championship match. She had defeated Anett Kontaveit, the No. 2 player in the world, just two days ago.

Nobody has ever tried harder or longer in the history of the game—possibly in the history of any game.

"I mean, there are a lot of things to remember. like the struggle. Such a fighter, I am. I'm not sure," she replied. "I believe I contributed significantly to the sport of tennis. The various expressions, the fist pumps, and the sheer, insane intensity. Of course, "passion" is a really nice term.

It was difficult to comprehend because the career, which lasted 27 years, was so convoluted. Her adversary and friend Naomi Osaka stated, "Her legacy is so extensive, to the point where you can't even convey it in words.

Two bracketing photographs could help to depict her impact in part. On August 9, Williams made her upcoming retirement official by striking a regal stance on the cover of the September issue of Vogue magazine while wearing a regal blue gown with a train. She also used the term "evolution" to make the announcement in a less painful way. Twenty-four September ago, in Williams's breakthrough year of 1999, Gwyneth Paltrow, a customarily gossamer-thin actress, was the Vogue "cover girl" that month. Williams would challenge the norms of tennis, redefining female beauty with a new model of strength and opening up the sport to a wider range of viewers. She has had four appearances in Vogue, making history as the first Black female athlete to do so. The fact that a powerful Black female athlete turned the glossy magazine into her home publication was no small feat. Not to mention a display for the jewelry and other items she so gleefully adorned her muscles with, right down to the diamond crusts on her boxer's sneakers.

She stated earlier in the competition, "I feel blessed that I can have that impact. "I never imagined I'd have that much of an effect. I was just a young woman playing tennis at a time when I could make a difference and have a voice. Simply put, it was so genuine because I do what I do. And I simply perform it in my truest self. People might definitely relate to that, in my opinion.

Williams' career was an investigation of force both on and off the court. Her powerful windup was coupled with control and a keen precision that allowed her to brush the lines. She was unrepentant about her towering fury, hard-charging game, loud voice, and her origins on the hardscrabble, cracked, and strafed public courts of Compton, California, despite the ups and downs of her victories. She remarked at Wimbledon earlier this summer, "I wouldn't be who I am if I didn't go through — and go through — what I got through. I cherish who I am. There is nothing I would trade it for.

Anything she did that was "wrong" or against the rules of tennis was inevitably emphasized, ridiculed, or closely examined. However, she didn't back down from that and instead made bold claims about body image, what tennis attire could include, and how loud a woman could participate. Typically, the tennis community placed subliminal pressure on women to repress their aspirations and voices and keep them within a set range. Williams used the strength of her competitive nature to put her own pressure on tennis. She adopted all of the positive aspects of the tennis scene without any negative ones. She escaped the injuries from overplaying, exhaustion, and disillusionment that other young champions experience.

Finally, she emerged as not only the modern era's most tenacious advocate but also its most revered. Oprah and Queen Latifah praised her during the last week, but she also received support from the public in a way and at a volume that no other champion had ever experienced. Even the most seasoned tennis watchers had never heard such ovations. Commentator Mary Carillo said, "This is not tennis sounds.

Williams claimed that she could physically feel the receptions in her chest. Danka Kovinic, who defeated her in the first round, admitted, "During the match, there were times when I couldn't hear my shots."

Williams and Tomljanovic engaged in combat as the crescendo grew louder and louder. She made her opponent fight for 15 minutes straight to retain her services in one game of the second set. When Williams won that set, she let out a guttural scream of her own that was so powerful it made her bend over backward.

But as the match neared its third hour, she interspersed her walloping strokes and dashes to the net, shots that hit like uppercuts, with arm-weary blunders in the last game, a siege that lasted 22 points.

A worn-out forehand that hit the white net tape was the final shot. Suddenly, it was finished.

She later broke down in tears in an on-court interview as she thanked her loved ones and expressed contradictory emotions. I guess they are happy tears," she remarked. "I'm not sure,"

She then expressed her gratitude to the group of people once they had grown to understand her. I'm just thankful to everyone who has ever yelled, "Go, Serena," because you helped me get here, she added.