Serena Williams may leave tennis as the best player in history. But there are still matches to be played. The only thing missing so far is success.
Shortly after announcing her imminent retirement from tennis, former world number one Serena Williams lost in the second round at the WTA tournament in Toronto.
The 40-year-old lost to Olympic champion Belinda Bencic of Switzerland 2-6, 4-6. A day earlier, Williams had announced that she would soon end her career. “It’s been a pretty interesting 24 hours,” she said after her defeat to Bencic, who is 15 years younger.
The US American is expected to retire after the US Open, which begins at the end of August. In Canada, she shouted to the crowd, “I’m terrible at goodbyes, but, goodbye, Toronto.” Williams won a total of 23 Grand Slam titles, one more than Steffi Graf.
