While the world sadly anticipates Serena Williams’ retirement from tennis to enjoy a life of domesticity, out of the spotlight and away from the prying eyes of the public, the brilliant athlete isn’t going quietly into that night. Williams, a six-time U.S. Open champion is playing her last professional tournament now in New York and she’s come out swinging.
In Monday’s play against Danka Kovinic of Montenegro, Williams easily defeated the No. 80 seed in a 6-3,6-3 victory.
Following the match athletes and officials paid homage to the indisputable greatest of all times, with a soiree to rival a royal celebration.
Gayle King hosted a short ceremony with a great tribute from tennis legend Billie Jean King, a video by Oprah and a quick interview with the woman of the hour where she thanked the crowd for their support and once again discussed how hard the decision to leave tennis has been.
“I’m here to tell you that I’m evolving away from tennis, toward other things that are important to me. A few years ago I quietly started Serena Ventures, a venture capital firm. Soon after that, I started a family. I want to grow that family.” Williams said in an earlier interview after announcing her retirement from tennis.
Since Serena is known as much for her fashion sense as her on-court play, she’s going out in style. Per sports journalist Nick DePaula, the four-time Olympic gold medalist wore a “figure skating-inspired Nike dress” of her own design, which featured six layers to represent her six US Open championships. After the match, she revealed she took two of the layers out because it was too heavy. Her “NikeCourt Flare 2 shoes include a diamond-encrusted Swoosh and solid gold lace deubrés with 400 hand-set diamonds.”