Serena Williams called an end to a glittering career after her third-round elimination from the US Open 2022. The 40-year-old bowed out in typical fashion, fighting it out until the end of an exhausting 3-setter that ended 7-5, 6-7 (4-7), 6-1 in her opponent’s favour, even saving 5 match points as she bravely fought her ageing body as much as the opponent in front of her. 

Williams retires with her place firmly etched in history as one of the greatest tennis players of all time. She won an unparalleled 23 Grand Slams- more than any other player, male or female, in the Open Era (Steffi Graf has won 22 grand slams, but she won them in a shorter span of just 13 years) and also won 14 doubles titles along with her sister Venus boasting an unbeaten record in Grand Slam doubles finals.

As the sun sets on her distinguished career, it is time to honour her legacy and assess just how much she has changed the world of tennis.

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Williams’ father, Richard Williams, had predicted back when his daughters were still young teenagers that his youngest daughter, Serena, would be an even greater tennis player than her older sister Venus who had started her career before Serena. Both, he said, would one day be the world’s best.

Tall claims those might have been, but soon it became evident that he just might be onto something. For as soon as Williams burst onto the scene, winning the first of her record 23 majors at the tender age of 17, there was that explosive power never before seen in the women’s game catching everyone by surprise.

Back in the days before Serena started her hegemony over women’s tennis, the convention would be to use a well-placed service as a tool to start a point with momentum for the server. But for Williams, her thunderous serve was a lot more than that, as she developed it into a legitimate weapon to win points–something never before seen in the sport.

Indeed, her unparalleled power and competitive ferocity forced other women in the sport to tear up everything they had built their game around and start from scratch and power up if they wanted to stand a chance against her. 

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Former U.S. Tennis Association president and CEO Katrina Adams underscored this when she said of Williams: “Serena’s presence in our sport revolutionised tennis. She transformed it to what it is today with her power, with her grit, with the perseverance and determination and with her fashion. She left it all out on the court with a never-say-die-attitude whenever she was down in a match.”

These words ring true when one notes the various circumstances and adversities that Serena has played through and still triumphed at every corner in spite of them. Whether it has been the constant criticism for the most trivial of reasons, the grief she endured when her sibling was shot dead, through her pregnancy, or post-childbirth, she has come out battling under every circumstance, thus setting new lofty standards in professionalism and resilience that elite players will aspire to emulate for the times to come.  

Beyond her excellence as a player, she also stood out as an icon for women’s rights and blacks’ rights. Her emergence as the best of the best was a revolutionary landmark for tennis- which has predominantly been a white-dominated elite sport. With every swing of her racquet, she banished stereotypes about race, culture, and gender and the watching audience loved her for it. 

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ESPN’s vice president Jamie Reynolds talks about the Serena phenomenon and how her presence galvanised the sport, comparing it to the impact Tiger Woods had on golf. 

He said, “It is akin to the ‘Tiger Effect’ in golf — the bump in interest based on whether Tiger was in the field or not. That’s what it’s like when Serena is in the field. The trend we typically see when Serena is involved and goes deep in a tournament is that the ratings for those matches can easily double. That’s the general rule of thumb for us.” 

And it all makes sense. Williams has after all not just been an exceptional phenomenon of a tennis player. She has been a character- a fighter who was prepared to wear her heart on her sleeve on the court instead of meekly aligning with the docile, emotionless personas that women were expected to wear while playing their game. She was prepared to be vocal, to express her feelings and often her ire at officials, she was prepared to ask the uncomfortable questions that are very often brushed under the carpet owing to the inconveniences of digging a little to deep and unearthing uncomfortable truths. 

And this, as much as her excellence as a player, is why the people loved her, and this is why the world of tennis owes her a debt that can never be repaid.