Watch: Serena Williams bursts into tears after US Open exit but refuses to rule out comeback

Serena Williams’ campaign at the US Open 2022 came to an end on Saturday, as she lost 5-7, 7-6(4), 1-6 to Australia’s Ajla Tomljanovic in her third fixture of the women’s singles event. After the match, Serena fought through her emotions and cried to thank her parents and elder sister Venus Wiliams for their support. On the court, she said, “Oh my god, thank you so much! You guys were amazing today. I tried but Ajla just played a little bit better. Thank you, Daddy. I know you’re watching. Thanks, Mom. Oh my god. I just thank everyone that’s here that’s been on my side so many years, decades, oh my gosh, literally decades. But it all started with my parents, and they deserve everything. So I’m really grateful for them.”

“Oh my god, 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! She’s the only reason Serena Williams ever existed”, she further added.

Here is the video of Serena expressing her ‘happy tears’ after the match:

In what was probably her last competitive appearance, Serena was asked about her retirement decision from the game, to which she quipped, “you never know”, hinting she might not quit competitive tennis yet.

The 23-time Grand Slam winner was in good form and led in all three sets at one point, but spoiled the advantage in two. In the final set, she was leading 1-0 before conceding six successive games. In the second set, she finished with 51 unforced errors, 21 more than her Aussie opponent. In the first set, she was leading 5-3, but eventually lost it. In the second set, she needed five set points to finally secure that one for her match.