Serena Williams’ quarter-century professional tennis journey came to a halt with a 7-5, 6-7 (4), 6-1 loss to Ajla Tomljanovic in the third round of the US Open. Williams’ exceptional career has managed to inspire many on and off the court, and her long 27 years stint as a legendary tennis player only cements her position as a historical athlete who has got a number of records under her belt.
Her retirement marks the end of an era. While several prominent personalities from all walks of life have reacted to Serena’s retirement, Bollywood celebs and sports personalities have also expressed their adulation towards the all-time favourite tennis player.
Alia Bhatt, who is gearing up for the release of her much-anticipated film Brahmastra, took to her Instagram stories to share a video of Serena’s overwhelming retirement speech. Along with the video, Alia wrote “Legend” with a pink-heart emoji as her caption. Similarly, Kareena Kapoor Khan had shared the same video with the same caption.
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On the other hand, Anushka Sharma who would be essaying the role of Jhulan Goswami, the former captain of India national women’s cricket team in the biopic Chakda’ Xpress, shared a picture of Serena smiling and waving to her fans. The actress included this as her caption, “Thank you Serena Williams for a lifetime of dedication and sacrifices to inspire a generation! G-O-A-T.”
Sania Mirza, who is herself an ace tennis player from India, posted a picture of Serena walking down the court with a water bottle in her hand. Sania called her ‘G-O-A-T (Greatest Of All Times)’ on her Instagram story.
Along with her older sister Venus, Serena Williams was coached by her parents Oracene Price and Richard Williams. Turning professional in 1995, she won her first major singles title at the 1999 US Open. From the 2002 French Open to the 2003 Australian Open, she was dominant, winning all four major singles titles (each time over Venus in the final) to achieve a non-calendar year Grand Slam and the career Grand Slam, known as the ‘Serena Slam’. The next few years saw her claim two more singles majors, but suffer from injury and decline in form. Beginning in 2007, however, she gradually returned to form despite continued injuries, retaking the world No. 1 singles ranking.
