On the night of 2 September 2022, inside a packed Arthur Ashe Stadium, Serena Williams played the final professional match of a 27-year career. The 23-time Grand Slam champion fell to Australia’s Ajla Tomljanovic, 7-5, 6-7(4), 6-1, in the third round of the US Open.
Five games flipped from 5-3 down
Williams opened with a break at love and then served for the first set at 5-3. Tomljanovic, a world No.46 who had won 15 of her last 19 matches, took the next four games. The set vanished 7-5, and the partisan crowd grew quiet.
Six match points, one final stand
Williams seized the first four games of the second set. Tomljanovic worked back to 5-5 and saved four set points. On the brink of defeat, Williams found her vintage best in the tiebreaker, converting a fifth set point and breaking to start the decider.
Tomljanovic then claimed five straight games for a 5-1 lead. Before over 29,000 fans, Williams saved five match points with clean winners. An ace earned a sixth chance, but a forehand into the net ended the contest after three hours and four minutes.
A bookend on the same court
The same stadium had seen her first major title, against Martina Hingis at age 17 in 1999. In between, she collected an Open Era-record 23 Grand Slam singles titles, 319 weeks at world No.1, 73 trophies, and a career Golden Slam completed at the London 2012 Olympics in both singles and doubles.
Tomljanovic, standing beside her on court, said simply, “She’s Serena. That’s just who she is, and she’s the greatest of all time. Period.”
The night did not dim the numbers. It set the farewell exactly where the story began.
