Serena Williams retires

[temery]

She was pretty good

Serena Williams announces she’s retiring from tennis

The famed athlete is hanging up her racket to focus on life with her husband, Alexis Ohanian, and her daughter, Olympia, as well as her other businesses.

pagesix.com

 

[The deacon]

She was pretty good

Serena Williams announces she’s retiring from tennis

The famed athlete is hanging up her racket to focus on life with her husband, Alexis Ohanian, and her daughter, Olympia, as well as her other businesses.

pagesix.com

I'm always sorry to see an all-time great leaving the scene. Serena deserves consideration along with Martina and Steffi as the best of women's tennis...

Margaret Court might have been as good, but played back when I was a kid, so that's ancient history sports-wise.

Serena had her share of less than graceful on- and off-court moments, but it shouldn't be overlooked the role she and her sister, Venus, played in advancing the racial diversity of a previously predominately white sport.

Thanks, Temery.

 

[Geew1992]

She was pretty good

Serena Williams announces she’s retiring from tennis

The famed athlete is hanging up her racket to focus on life with her husband, Alexis Ohanian, and her daughter, Olympia, as well as her other businesses.

pagesix.com

She is the ABSOLUTE GOAT!

 

[temery]

She is the ABSOLUTE GOAT!

She belongs in every discussion for greatest, but we'll never know how she would have done with a wood racquet, or how past greats would have done with modern technology.

 

[JordyG]

Not surprising. I pretty much predicted this after her Wimbledon performance. But lets be clear, she hasn't fully announced her retirement, only that "the countdown has begun". The truth is Serena has nothing left to prove on the court. Further, IMO her legacy is clearly cemented as the GOAT, and nothing she does on the court herein diminishes that. Her size and speed alone was greater than all other contenders for that title. Wood racquets? Does anyone really think that the variability and subtlety of placement wood racquets allow would have eluded her? Does anyone think former players such as Margret Court or Chris Evert could have kept up with Serena's speed and power, wood or not? C'mon.

 

[socal613ws]

She's the greatest tennis player of all-time men's or women's.

 

[Geew1992]

She belongs in every discussion for greatest, but we'll never know how she would have done with a wood racquet, or how past greats would have done with modern technology.

No argument here. I was looking at it more like............ She's won all these championships by herself. No team like in football, basketball...etc.

 

[The deacon]

Not surprising. I pretty much predicted this after her Wimbledon performance. But lets be clear, she hasn't fully announced her retirement, only that "the countdown has begun". The truth is Serena has nothing left to prove on the court. Further, IMO her legacy is clearly cemented as the GOAT, and nothing she does on the court herein diminishes that. Her size and speed alone was greater than all other contenders for that title. Wood racquets? Does anyone really think that the variability and subtlety of placement wood racquets allow would have eluded her? Does anyone think former players such as Margret Court or Chris Evert could have kept up with Serena's speed and power, wood or not? C'mon.

I do, JordyG. There's no question in my mind Martina and Steffi would have been every bit a match for Serena. That's why I grouped them above. Perhaps not Court or Evert. Who knows?

It's an unwinnable argument to state definitively any one player has been the greatest, in this sport as in others. While understanding each of you has the right to make your own assessment, I'd rather just appreciate what Serena accomplished, as I did with Martina and Steffi.

 

[ClifSpliffy]

She belongs in every discussion for greatest, but we'll never know how she would have done with a wood racquet, or how past greats would have done with modern technology.

i was told that it was something called a wilson T that killed tadduni?
literally, an elder used to say 'wilson t killed tadduni' whenever he stepped on a court. funny guy, that one. we never knew what he was saying... uh, oh. he was a blood relation......
and why were folks stringing them with cat guts? no pita back then?

 

[LoboDays]

The racquets completely changed the game. There are players today who are in the middle of the pack that hit the ball harder and faster than the best players of past generations. Serena was the best player of her generation. GOAT debates always come up but they are not worth much.

 

[Plebe]

Retiring after the US Open. Let's hope she at least can put together at least a few wins in her curtain call. The fans will be trying to will her to win.

I don't partake in the GOAT debates but she has an unremovable place in the shortest of short lists for the all-time greats.

 

[and one]

The end of an extraordinary era in tennis is almost over. Since the late 90s grandslams have been dominated by Venus, Serena, Federer, Nedal, Djokovic and Murrey. None of them are technically retired but only Djoko has good years left. Rafa stays injured and will get tired of endless rehab, Andy has made more progress than I expected after a hip replacement but isn't likely to get his old game back, Fed is giving it another try this fall and I'd love to see him play well, but...he is old.

What a great run by these phenomenal players we got to enjoy.

 

[TheFarmFan]

Sad to hear this, but it was probably time.

Re: GOATS, kind of hard to see the argument for Graf over Serena.

Serena has more championships, over three different decades, and faced a murderer's row of top flight competition along the way (her sister, Davenport, Hingis, Capriati, Mauresmo, Clijsters, Henin, Sharapova, Azarenka, Kerber, Li Na, Halep, Kvitova, and Muguruza all won multiple grand slams while she was competing.).

After briefly overlapping at the tail of end of Martina's career, Graf's only serious competitors (2+ grand slams) were Seles (have to include an asterisk because Seles really had Graf's number before the stabbing) and Sanchez Vicario. Graf played beautiful tennis, but it's just so hard for me to think their careers are equivalent.

 

[LwrcasefaN]

She belongs in every discussion for greatest, but we'll never know how she would have done with a wood racquet, or how past greats would have done with modern technology.

Or Tom Brady Bret Favre with a leather helmet, right? Most GOAT discussions are rightfully so broad discussions. This isn't one of them, IMO.

 

[ktuck911]

Shout out to the greatest women's tennis player of all time. Job well done Serena...

 

[Cuango]

Sad to hear this, but it was probably time.

Re: GOATS, kind of hard to see the argument for Graf over Serena.

Serena has more championships, over three different decades, and faced a murderer's row of top flight competition along the way (her sister, Davenport, Hingis, Capriati, Mauresmo, Clijsters, Henin, Sharapova, Azarenka, Kerber, Li Na, Halep, Kvitova, and Muguruza all won multiple grand slams while she was competing.).

After briefly overlapping at the tail of end of Martina's career, Graf's only serious competitors (2+ grand slams) were Seles (have to include an asterisk because Seles really had Graf's number before the stabbing) and Sanchez Vicario. Graf played beautiful tennis, but it's just so hard for me to think their careers are equivalent.

And yet…
Serena is and will always be one of the greatest women’s tennis players ever. She simply dominated the court with her strength and speed. Most of her opponents were beaten before they started. However, as many have pointed out, it is rarely possible to categorically designate a particular player as “the best” as there are simply too many variables and opinions. We all have our favorites/opinions and that is about as close as we can get in most cases.

 

[superjohn]

She's the greatest tennis player of all-time men's or women's.

Lolz. No she's not.

 

[triaddukefan]

In my opinion Serena Williams is the greatest female tennis player of all time, though I've only been watching tennis since about 1983. In her prime she was much watch TV. It will be a sad sad day in my house when she hangs it up for good.

 

[JellyBean]

Serena, along with her sister, came into the tennis world and made a huge impact. Sure, there were the likes of John McEnroe, Jimmy Conners, Boris Beck, Martina Navratilova, Chris Evert, Steffi Graf, and my all-time favorite, Gabriela Sabatini. Serena and Venus were not popular back in the day, but they slowly won folks over and that is what I will always remember about the Serena (and Venus), that mental toughness and a proud legacy. Mad respect for Serena (and Venus).

 

[Conndog]

Sad to hear this, but it was probably time.

Re: GOATS, kind of hard to see the argument for Graf over Serena.

Serena has more championships, over three different decades, and faced a murderer's row of top flight competition along the way (her sister, Davenport, Hingis, Capriati, Mauresmo, Clijsters, Henin, Sharapova, Azarenka, Kerber, Li Na, Halep, Kvitova, and Muguruza all won multiple grand slams while she was competing.).

After briefly overlapping at the tail of end of Martina's career, Graf's only serious competitors (2+ grand slams) were Seles (have to include an asterisk because Seles really had Graf's number before the stabbing) and Sanchez Vicario. Graf played beautiful tennis, but it's just so hard for me to think their careers are equivalent.

Seles was so good, she had not just Graf’s number but everyone elses’s too in her too brief dominance. 2-hand backhand and a 2-hand forehand? Don’t know any other player ever who played that way. She just tore people apart.

 

[bbfanLA]

The funny thing is is that Venus won 7 majors herself. The list of players who won more is pretty short. One of them happens to be her sister.

 

[oldude]

What a remarkable career. Over the last few years I had hoped that Serena, with 23 Grand Slam titles, could possibly catch and pass Margaret Court’s 24. 11 of Court’s 24 grand slam wins came in the Australian Open, when many top players didn’t travel to the land down under.

Serena came close to #24 several times, but always seemed to lose out to a younger player on top of their game. While she wasn’t as dominating a player as she was in her prime, Serena’s ability to continue to compete at the highest level, well into her 30’s, overcoming a number of physical ailments, was absolutely amazing.

 

[triaddukefan]

What a remarkable career. Over the last few years I had hoped that Serena, with 23 Grand Slam titles, could possibly catch and pass Margaret Court’s 24. 11 of Court’s 24 grand slam wins came in the Australian Open, when many top players didn’t travel to the land down under.

Serena came close to #24 several times, but always seemed to lose out to a younger player on top of their game. While she wasn’t as dominating a player as she was in her prime, Serena’s ability to continue to compete at the highest level, well into her 30’s, overcoming a number of physical ailments, was absolutely amazing.

Her loss in the 2015 US Open Semi-finals was the most gut-wrenching match I've ever seen.

 

[Sluconn Husky]

She's the greatest tennis player of all-time men's or women's.

Is this a parody?

 

[ucbart]

Congrats ro Serena on a great career and she is certainly in GOAT talks-but I will die on this hill.......

If Monica Seles had not gotten stabbed, she would've been the UNDISPUTED women's tennis GOAT. And it's not close.

We've never been robbed and cheated out of athletic greatness like we were hers.