The likely end of Serena Williams' tennis career has left the game staring at the beginning of the end of the sport's golden era, a dreaded prospect that has long been on the horizon.
The American, who will turn 41 this month, bid an emotional goodbye to the U. S. Open with a third-round loss to Australian Ajla Tomljanovic on Friday, in what may have been the last singles match of her glittering career.
