Posted: 01:58, August 29, 2022 | Updated: 06:44, 29 August 2022
Whatever the outcome on Monday night, the US Open will hold a farewell ceremony for Serena Williams as she brings down the curtain on her glittering career. Williams will play Danka Kovinic with Arthur Ashe in the evening, the tie that highlights the first day of the US Open. Williams, 40, a 23-time Grand Slam winner, is expected to retire after her home run, meaning Monday’s match could be her last in singles if she loses. And according to the New York Post, the sellout crowd of 23,800 will watch after her match as US tennis pays tribute to her amazing career. The publication adds that Williams will have around 100 guests, made up of family and friends, on hand to watch her in action. Williams enters Monday’s match with a 1-3 record since returning to action at Wimbledon earlier this year. The US Open will pay tribute to Serena Williams on Monday, win or lose Williams is expected to retire from tennis after the US Open, which starts on Monday Williams is stepping down in part to focus on her family — pictured here with her husband Alexis Ohanian, the founder of Reddit, and their daughter Olympia She was beaten by defending US Open champion Emma Raducanu at the Cincinnati Open earlier in August, but even for Williams now, her tie with Kovinic is a win-win. The 27-year-old from Montenegro heads into the Williams clash on a five-match losing streak. But even if Williams misses out on Monday, there will be another chance to see her on the floor as she also competes in doubles alongside her sister, Venus. And, in fact, she was coy about the fact that the US Open is absolutely her last tournament. When she announced her plans to retire in early August to Vogue, Williams said: “I’ve never liked the word (retirement). “It doesn’t seem like a modern word to me. I thought of this as a transition, but I want to be sensitive about how I use this word, which means something very specific and important to a community of people. Danka Kovinic will take on Williams in what could be the American’s final singles match Williams has struggled for form at the US Open and recently lost to Emma Raducanu Williams pictured in action at the 2000 US Open against Nicole Pratt at Flushing Meadows “Maybe the best word to describe what I do is evolution,” he continued. “I’m here to tell you that I’m evolving away from tennis, towards other things that are important to me.” Not only does Williams want to spend more time with her husband, Reddit co-founder Alexis Ohanian, and their five-year-old Olympia, but she’s hoping for another child. “For the past year, Alexis and I have been trying to have another child and we recently got some information from my doctor that helped me feel that whenever we are ready, we can add to our family,” Williams wrote. “I definitely don’t want to get pregnant again as an athlete. I have to be two feet in tennis or two feet out.’
