The 2022 US Open runs from August 23 - September 11 in New York City at the USTA Billie Jean King National Tennis Center. The tournament takes place for the 142nd time and is the fourth and final Grand Slam of the year.
Serena Williams said she wanted to be remembered as a fighter and was proud of the impact she had on tennis as she most likely dropped the curtain on her historic career at the U.S. Open on Friday.
"The fight, I'm such a fighter," she said when asked how she wanted to be remembered following her 7-5 6-7(4) 6-1 third round loss to Ajla Tomljanovic, in what she has indicated was her final match.
Daniil Medvedev is the men’s singles reigning champion and Emma Raducanu is the women’s singles reigning champion.
Last year, both players claimed their first Grand Slam title, with 18-year-old Raducanu becoming the first-ever qualifier to achieve the feat. This year’s tournament is set to feature a range of greats and future stars looking to add to their records and cement their place in tennis history.
After winning an astonishing 23 Grand Slams over the course of her incredible career, tennis legend Serena Williams has retired following her loss to Ajla Tomljanovic in Round 3 of the 2022 US Open.
Asked by an on-court interviewer whether there was any possibility she might yet extend her career,
Interviewer: Serena this has been your stage this is your moment what would you like to say to your family your friends and all the millions of fans that are watching you around the world
She replied:
"Oh my god thank you so much you guys were amazing today i i tried i'll just play it a little bit better, thank you daddy i know you're watching thanks mom,
Oh my god i just thank everyone that's here that's been on my side so many years decades oh my gosh literally decades but it all started with my parents and they deserve everything so i'm really grateful for them.
oh my god these are happy tears i guess i don't know and i wouldn't be serena if it wasn't venus so thank you venus she's the only reason serena williams ever existed, so i don't know i just everyone from jill to isha to my sister lynn to my husband to olympia to jamir for everyone in that box eric renee"
Williams meanwhile was let down by her serve, widely regarded as one of the most reliably formidable weapons in her arsenal throughout her career. Though she was still able to send down 11 aces during the match, she was broken no fewer than eight times.
Tomljanovic had recovered from 5-3 down in the first set to break Williams, before rattling off four straight games to take the early lead.
Tomljanovic also forced a tie break in the second set after Williams had led 4-0. Williams took the breaker to level at 1-1, but the energy-sapping 1hr 23min second set clearly took its toll on the American.
The Australian looked by far the fresher of the two in the decider and she quickly built a 5-1 lead in the third before closing out the win.