It’s so hard to say goodbye

Serena Williams, the 🐐 of women’s tennis (don’t @ us), lost in the third round of the US Open on Friday, in what was likely her final match as a professional tennis player.

Williams, who turns 41 later this month, first mentioned her upcoming retirement in a Vogue essay posted last month – though she was careful not to use that exact word, framing it instead as “evolv[ing] away from tennis” after the US Open.

🎾 By the numbers… Williams began her professional career as a 14-year-old in 1995. Over the next 27 years, she amassed 73 singles titles – including 23 Grand Slams, the most in the pro era – won four Olympic gold medals, and spent 319 weeks ranked No. 1 in the world.

• She also won 14 major doubles titles alongside her sister Venus, and held two career “Serena Slams” – a term first coined in 2003 when she became the reigning champ of all four Grand Slam singles tournaments at once.😳

🤷‍♀️ Is this really the end?... Short answer: no one knows for sure – probably not even herself. Though she’s played sparingly the past few years due to a hamstring injury, Williams defeated world No. 2 Anett Kontaveit in the US Open’s second round last week, prompting rumors that she isn’t ready to officially retire just yet.

And when asked about her future plans after losing on Friday, Serena hinted at competing in the Australian Open next January… so we shall see.