Serena Williams Gives Tearful Speech After Losing in U.S. Open

Serena Williams delivered a tearful speech after losing in the third round of the U.S. Open late Friday, a defeat likely to mark the end of her professional tennis career. “Thank you so much, you guys were amazing today. I wish I played a little bit better,” she said after her loss to Australia’s Ajla Tomljanovic. “I just thank everyone that’s here, that’s been on my side so many years, decades. Oh my gosh, literally decades,” she said, also thanking her parents. “These are happy tears, I guess! I don’t know. And I wouldn’t be Serena if there wasn’t Venus, so thank you Venus.” The 23-time grand slam winner had announced in an interview with Vogue in August that she plans to “evolve away from tennis” after the U.S. Open to “focus on other things that are important to me.”