Serena Williams: tennis will not be the same

[Theramo]

Serena announced she will retire after US Open.

An incredible athlete, introduced power play in womens tennis, 23 grand slams - highest for current players (men and women), below only Court (mind you, some of Court's wins were before tennis became professional), polarising yet role model for many young women from similar(to hers) backgrounds.

AIBU to believe she is the best tennis player ever

YANBU. She is the GOAT.

She is amazing.

The Williams sisters dominated women's tennis for such a long time. It's only recently that I'm remembering how its usual for a variety of players to win the grand slams. Especially when we had the dominance of the big 3 in the men's game.

Awesome player. She will be missed on the court but I'm sure she will go on to other great things.

Not just tennis, but one of the greatest female athletes of all time. She dominated her sport for twenty years. Really impressive and she makes me proud to be an American. It'll be interesting to see what she does next, she has the ability to do anything she wants.

I can't stand her. Arrogant and unpleasant.

I was only going to take issue with “Polarising”.

any amazing athlete and a fantastic role model.

I get upset that people call her arrogant. She has put up with so much sexist and racist rubbish during her career. Steffie Graf was held up as the most amazing tennis player after the great Maria Navratilova. Then it was Martina Hinges and Maria Sharapova. The Williams sisters played better tennis than any of these others yet were treated appallingly.

Serena Williams is an absolutely amazing athlete and yes she is the very best. Her sister is also an amazing athlete. Both are very important role models and have behaved admirably.

100% agree with this. What she has achieved is spectacular. Brilliant role model.

I was surprised to read that Venus only won 7 grand slams, compared with Serena's 23.

Because she was mostly up against Serena:)

GOAT definitely. If you haven't seen "King Richard", do. It was very moving on their journey.

Tan beat her well at Wimbledon 22. She was unseeded having not played for a year. That was the first round. She looked totally out of sorts so it clearly is the right time to retire.

Yes, probably, though I really wish she had got two more slams to beat Margaret Court.

Less grunting - I look forward to it.

Serena was hardly the first player to grunt

Serena Williams was (and still is) amazing and has achieved so much, not just for herself, but other female athletes in sport.

I can only imagine the views that she is arrogant or grunts are aimed purely to be derogatory at someone who has shown dedication and talent at a sport.

I love Serena. I think now is the right time to retire. Best female player ever

She really isn’t. She is massively competitive on court. Not something a man would be called out for.

And if she has had to be extra tough to get where she is, owing to being the first significant women’s tennis player of colour, then fair enough. I can’t imagine the hurdles she’s faced tbh.

Absolutely agree with this. Amazing and inspirational athlete.

Brilliant advocate for tennis. Look forward to seeing what she does next.

She is a true tennis legend

Fantastic athlete

She won an open (can't remember, was it Wimbledon?) during her first trimester. I will never not be amazed by this. How bloody knackering is it?!

She is one of my favourite ever athletes and I will miss her. GOAT for sure.

@FilthyforFirth The 2017 Australian Open. She was 8 weeks then. Incredible.

Such a shame she couldn't beat Court's record but she's definitely the greater player as, French Open aside, Court won all her Slams on grass, and her 11 Australian titles came at a time when few top players would make the journey down under.

GOAT and role model to all.