- Title: "She is the GOAT": Los Angeles tennis fans celebrate Serena's legacy
- Date: 3rd September 2022
- Summary: LOS ANGELES, CALIFORNIA, UNITED STATES (SEPTEMBER 2, 2022) (Reuters) VARIOUS OF PEOPLE PLAYING TENNIS ON COURTS WHERE SERENA WILLIAMS AND HER SISTER, VENUS, PLAYED TENNIS AS CHILDREN (SOUNDBITE) (English) AMANDA RICHARDSON, 45-YEAR LOS ANGELES RESIDENT, SAYING: "She's the GOAT (greatest of all time) of all athletes, male, female. She is the GOAT. They (Williams sisters) are going to be remembered as two women that have changed the game of tennis and changed the world, you know? So, they've definitely impacted and left their mark on this." MORE OF PEOPLE PLAYING TENNIS (SOUNDBITE) (English) AMANDA RICHARDSON, 45-YEAR LOS ANGELES RESIDENT, SAYING: "I would say aside from even race, she set the example for athleticism. She made every girl on that tour step it up. They're out there training with weights and bands and all these kind of different exercises that they didn't do before." PEOPLE PLAYING TENNIS (SOUNDBITE) (English) ABIGAIL FIETZER, 41-YEAR-OLD LOS ANGELES RESIDENT, SAYING: "Oh my God, you can't even state what she gave to this sport. I mean she uplifted all the women, she made it a talk not just about who could be the greatest female athlete but literally who could be the greatest athlete. So, it's an amazing influence and she really brought everybody up to a higher level." PEOPLE PLAYING TENNIS VARIOUS OF TWO MEN SITTING TALKING BESIDE TENNIS COURT (SOUNDBITE) (English) CLIFF BUREMS, 79-YEAR-OLD TENNIS PLAYER, SAYING: "They have, I guess, shown that you can come from humble beginning and make a good life for yourself. And if you dedicate yourself to doing what you love doing and what you have talent in, it pays off in the long run. So, I'm proud of them for that." BUREMS TALKING WITH FRIEND (SOUNDBITE) (English) NELSON MONTGOMERY PATTEB, LOS ANGELES TENNIS INSTRUCTOR, SAYING: "I have this belief that she will try for the one more that she needs to break the record. That's just me. But as far as the people that I know in tennis, they are some ladies right now probably watched the match, they are devastated. She is their idol." SIGN ON TENNIS COURT READING: "GO SERENA" VARIOUS OF DRONE FOOTAGE AND GROUND SHOTS OF TENNIS COURTS
- Embargoed: 17th September 2022 05:38
- Keywords: Serena Williams fans reactions
- Location: LOS ANGELES, CALIFORNIA, UNITED STATES
- City: LOS ANGELES, CALIFORNIA, UNITED STATES
- Country: USA
- Topics: Sport,Tennis,United States
- Reuters ID: LVA001249103092022RP1
- Aspect Ratio: 16:9
- Story Text:Tennis fans in Los Angeles on Friday (September 2) celebrated the legacy of Serena Williams as the tennis star bid an emotional good-bye to the U.S. Open with a third-round loss to Ajla Tomljanovic, in what may have been the last singles match of her glittering career.
Playing on the very same courts that Serena and her sister, Venus, trained on as kids, one fan said she was the GOAT, or greatest of all time.
"She's the GOAT of all athletes, male, female. She is the GOAT. They (Williams sisters) are going to be remembered as two women that have changed the game of tennis and changed the world," said Amanda Richardson, a 45-year-old Los Angeles resident.
"I would say aside from even race, she set the example for athleticism. She made every girl on that tour step it up. They're out there training with weights and bands and all these kind of different exercises that they didn't do before," she added.
Defeat has always been hard to swallow for the fiercely competitive Williams and no doubt the 7-5 6-7 (4) 6-1 loss to the 46th ranked Australian stung her to her core.
Her three U.S. Open matches, highlighted by a second-round win over world number two Anett Kontaveit, were a gift to her fans, the relentless never-surrender attitude that made her tennis' dominant player for over two decades on display right until the very final point.
"Oh my God, you can't even state what she gave to this sport. I mean she uplifted all the women, she made it a talk not just about who could be the greatest female athlete but literally who could be the greatest athlete. So, it's an amazing influence and she really brought everybody up to a higher level," said Abigail Feitzer, a 41-year-old tennis fan.
Williams had signaled her intention to retire in a Vogue article in early August, saying she was "evolving away from tennis" but never confirming the U.S. Open as her final event.
The raucous New York crowd that had backed her from the very beginning and over the years, fueling her runs to six U.S. Open titles, was in her corner once again but could not lift her to one more win.
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