TORONTO — She wiped tears from her cheeks with a white towel as she walked off the court clutching a huge bouquet of flowers in one hand, then Serena Williams raised her hand for a final wave goodbye.
Moments earlier, the incomparable champion had informed that roaring, sold-out crowd at the National Tennis Center that she was “terrible at goodbyes,” before adding with a smile, “but goodbye, Toronto!”
And that was it, one last hurrah in Canada from a woman who won more than any other in the modern era and who will retire later this season and leave an unfillable hole in the game she changed forever. Who can imagine tennis without Serena Williams? Wednesday night was officially the last time she will play in this country, losing in the second round of the National Bank Open, where she was a three-time champion, the first time 21 years ago, but not this time, not the last time.
The match lasted just one hour and 17 minutes, a two-set loss to Belinda Bencic, who most wanted to go longer and end differently, lest it be the end of one of her last tournaments.
“It was more than tennis and, you know, like it was really all about Serena and just her career,” Bencic said when it was over. She was happy to win, of course. But the world No 12 added: “It’s a bit sadder today in a way. I don’t really want her to retire.
The news is still relevant to almost everyone and certainly to those in the tennis world. It came just a day earlier when Williams published a first-person op-ed in Vogue magazine explaining that she is retiring from tennis after the US Open because she wants to focus on growing her family, as she turns 41 next month , because no I don’t want to juggle being an athlete and having and raising a little baby again because she wants to put both feet into being a parent.
“Yeah, it’s been a lot of emotions,” Williams said of what she’s been through since publishing that article. She did her only postgame interview on the court with Sportsnet’s Carly Agro, opting not to hold a press conference (all part of the bad attitude toward farewells). “And yes, I wish I could have played better, but Belinda played so well today,” Williams added. “But it’s been a pretty interesting 24 hours.”
Williams said she didn’t know if she could enjoy the moment from this final match in Canada, and then a fan shouted “Serena! You’re the best!” and the crowd roared once more as Williams told the fans she loved each and every one of them.
There were flashes of brilliance from Williams in this historic match. She opened it with an ace, then followed it up with a serve to Bencic’s body, and when she reached break point in that opening game, she fired another ace and eventually held her serve.
There were other times when unforced errors cost her, when she couldn’t get to balls to return them. Bencic broke Williams in her second service game to take a 2-1 lead and never looked back after that.
That didn’t matter much to the crowd, which got incredibly loud when Williams was up and when Williams was down. “Come on Serena!” they shouted. And: “We love you, Serena!” When she served an ace, they asked her, “Give her another!”
Fans held signs that read “GOAT” and “Canada Loves Serena” and “Thank you Serena” and “Welcome to the Williams Show!” Entering the stadium, the sign read, “Serena plays tonight!” Everyone knew. All the phones were on and recording her last moments of the last match.
And since her announcement on Tuesday, so many have weighed in on her impact on the sport. In the past 24 hours, Billie Jean King, Wayne Gretzky and just about every tennis player has been asked about Williams. Almost everyone has a different answer to what makes her so great and so important, because it’s how far-reaching her impact has been, because there’s so much more to Williams than her 23 Grand Slam titles, 73 WTA titles and four Olympic gold medals.
“You can feel her presence everywhere,” Bencic said. “She has this aura that just, you know, like it or not, you’re scared, you’re scared. With her standing there on the way back, you just get a little scared. Of course it’s Serena.
“And I mean, in a way, with her, I almost feel like a star every time I see her. So it’s hard to play her… I feel like I’m a little paralyzed just looking at her.”
“Oh man,” said a wide-eyed Bianca Andreescu when it came to Williams and her impending retirement. The 22-year-old beat Williams here in the 2019 final and then soon after in the US Open final. “I feel honored to have been given this opportunity to play her and even connect with her in some way,” Andreescu said.
Andreescu hopes to play with Williams one more time. Coco Gauff does too – the 18-year-old never had a chance. “The legacy that she has left through her tennis career is something that I don’t think any other player can match,” said Gauff, herself a direct example of Williams’ influence. “I mean, that’s why I play tennis,” she added. “Since tennis is a predominantly white sport, that definitely helped a lot. Because I saw someone who looked like me dominate the game. It made me believe that I could dominate too.”
On the court, after her last hurray in Canada, as her daughter Olympia looked on, Williams was reminded that she’s been playing for this country for 22 years. She smiled and then more tears began to fall.
“Thank you from the bottom of my heart,” Williams said, just before she left that court for the last time. “It’s been a pleasure playing in front of you all these years, so thank you.”
And what else can we all say but thank you right away. And luckily for all of us, Serena Williams isn’t quite done yet.
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