Serena Williams appeared to confirm her retirement from tennis in emotional scenes after she crashed out of the US Open courtesy of a third round defeat at the hands of Ajla Tomljanovic.
Williams, who turns 41 later this month, had revealed earlier this year that she would walk away from tennis for good following her home major. But there was to be no fairytale ending for the 23-time major singles champion, who was unable to overcome Tomljanovic at Arthur Ashe Stadium.
The American fought back valiantly after losing the opening set, but she eventually succumbed to her opponent, currently ranked 46 in the world rankings, 7-5 6-7 (4-7) 6-1, to bring her illustrious career to an end.
