Serena Williams Announces Retirement From Tennis

One of the greatest tennis players of all time, Serena Williams (pictured above), announced her retirement from the sport in an article she wrote in Vogue magazine on Tuesday morning.

Serena (who's currently playing in a tournament in Canada) said in the article that she will retire after the upcoming U.S. Open in New York City at the end of August.  The U.S. Open is the final major of the year in tennis .

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Serena, who was born in Saginaw, Michigan, grew up on the public courts of Compton, California.  Under the guidance of her father Richard, Serena and her older sister, Venus, became world-class and then Hall of Fame level tennis players.

Serena has won 23 major titles in her illustrious career.  That's second all-time behind Margaret Court's 24.  Williams has won 7 Australian Opens, 7 Wimbledon titles, 6 U.S. Opens, and 3 French Open titles.  She has also won 14 major doubles titles in her career (all with her sister, Venus), and a pair of mixed doubles major titles (both with partner Max Mirnyi) as well.

Perhaps her greatest on-court accomplishments include the "Serena Slam", where she won four straight major championships from the 2002 French Open through the 2003 Australian Open.  And she nearly won the calendar Grand Slam in 2016.  She won the Australian and French Opens as well as Wimbledon, but lost in the U.S. Open semifinals to Roberta Vinci.  She is the only player, male or female, to win a career Grand Slam in singles and doubles.

Serena also won four Olympic gold medals in her career.  Three in doubles (with sister, Venus) and she won the gold in singles in the 2012 London Olympics.