MASON, Ohio — Serena Williams lost in the opening-round match of the penultimate tournament of her career Tuesday, but was still given a hero’s sendoff following the 6-4, 6-0 defeat to Emma Raducanu at the Western & Southern Open.
Moments after losing, the 2021 US Open champion was given a standing ovation from the crowd and drew praise from her opponent on the court after the match.
“We all should honor Serena and her amazing career,” Raducanu said. “Everything she’s achieved is so inspirational. It was a true honor to share the court with her.”
Williams, for her part, appeared to decline the on-court interviewer as she quickly packed her bags and walked off the court immediately after the match, waving and smiling to the crowd as she went. A microphone that had been set up on the opposite side of the net from Raducanu’s interview was then removed from the court.
It’s been an emotional week for Williams. The 40-year-old announced she would soon be walking away from tennis in a first-person for Vogue published last Tuesday, sharing her desire to have another child.
Williams, who has the most major titles of any player in the Open Era with 23, has admitted to having mixed feelings about retirement — even opting to use the word “evolution” about her next chapter instead.
“There is no happiness in this topic for me,” Williams wrote. “I know it’s not the usual thing to say, but I feel a great deal of pain. It’s the hardest thing that I could ever imagine. I hate it.
“I hate that I have to be at this crossroads. I keep saying to myself, I wish it could be easy for me, but it’s not. I’m torn: I don’t want it to be over, but at the same time I’m ready for what’s next.”
Since her reveal, Williams received much fanfare in her second-round loss at the Canadian Open, in which there was an on-court ceremony following the match, and ticket sales skyrocketed at the Western & Southern Open and the US Open. Williams’ afternoon practice session on Tuesday drew hundreds of fans cramming to catch a glimpse of the star.
It was a nearly-capacity crowd at the 11,435-seat Center Court on Tuesday, and there were chants heard and visible signs in support of Williams until the final point. In addition to her family, including four-year-old daughter Olympia, in the crowd, four-time major champion Naomi Osaka, who lost earlier in the day, was also in attendance. Williams struggled early in her first career meeting with Raducanu, 19, and trailed 4-1 before fighting back and…
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