‘It’s been a fun ride’: tears and tributes as Serena Williams ‘evolves’ out of tennis

Pure grit and scintillating play - Williams's curtain call against Ajla Tomljanovi demonstrated how she changed all sport for ever

Serena Williams doesn't much like the word retirement". The 40-year-old athlete thinks it sounds old-fashioned. She prefers to say that she is in transition", although she's well aware that's a sensitive concept in 2022, so generally when she's asked about what's next for her, Williams settles on evolution".

Whichever term she chooses, the undeniable facts are these: on Friday night in New York, Williams lost an exhilarating, excruciating third-round match at the US Open to Australia's Ajla Tomljanovi. The stakes were huge, the quality of play scintillating. Williams, her opponent, the 24,000 people watching in an unhinged Arthur Ashe Stadium - where the cheapest seats were changing hands for more than $500 (434) - and millions tuning in on screens knew this might be the last time we would ever see Williams compete on a tennis court.