Serena Williams

Even the oddsmakers are starting to believe in Serena Williams.

After the 23-time Grand Slam winner opened the 2022 U.S. Open at 50-1 odds, she's dropped all the way to 14-1 after her victory over second-seeded Anett Kontaveit.

"It's extremely unique to have such a sports icon at long odds you would never have gotten in their prime," Caesars Sportsbook vice president of trading Craig Mucklow told ESPN's Doug Kezirian. "This is a great story, and the longer the run continues, the more action we'll see backing Serena, for sure."

Williams entered her second-round match as a heavy underdog but looked spry as she earned a 7-6 (4), 2-6, 6-2 win over Kontaveit, who entered Flushing Meadows as the world No. 2. She will face off against Ajla Tomljanović in the third round and opened as a -170 favorite at DraftKings Sportsbook.

The 40-year-old great announced her pending retirement from tennis in a first-person essay published in Vogue. While Williams admitted she didn't want to walk away from tennis—she noted she would never have to make such a choice if she were a man—her desire to expand her family has taken priority over her dreams on the court.

"I never wanted to have to choose between tennis and a family. I don't think it’s fair," Williams wrote. "If I were a guy, I wouldn't be writing this because I'd be out there playing and winning while my wife was doing the physical labor of expanding our family. Maybe I'd be more of a Tom Brady if I had that opportunity."

Williams had largely looked like a shell of her past self in three tournaments before the U.S. Open. She was ousted in the first round at Wimbledon and the Western & Southern Open; her only win this year before this week came against Nuria Párrizas Díaz, the No. 62 player in the world.

Tomljanović has never faced Williams in a head-to-head matchup.

The 2022 U.S. Open will be the final tennis tournament featuring both Williams sisters.

Venus Williams gained entry to Flushing Meadows as a wild card, according to the United States Tennis Association in an announcement Wednesday, allowing her to play in her sister Serena's retirement event.

Serena Williams announced her plans to retire from tennis following this year's U.S. Open in a Vogue article this month.

Venus Williams is a two-time U.S. Open champion, winning the event in 2000 and 2001. She also lost to Serena in the 2002 final, which was the last time she reached a final in the New York-based hardcourt major.

While she ranks among the most decorated players of her generation, Venus Williams' wild-card selection is one based far more on reputation than recent performance.

The 42-year-old has not won a singles match since her first-round match at Wimbledon last year. She has struggled with injuries and poor performance in recent years; she did not play a competitive singles match from August 2021 until her return this month.

Since getting back on the court, Williams has been handily defeated in both of her singles matches this year.

Despite her struggles, it would not have felt right if Venus was not in the field during Serena's final tournament. Serena has also not looked like herself since her own return to tennis in June, posting a 1-2 record.

The 23-time singles Grand Slam winner said in the Vogue article she plans on expanding her family and business ventures in retirement. The 40-year-old gave birth to a daughter, Olympia, in 2017.

Serena Williams suffered a straight-sets loss (6-4, 6-0) to reigning U.S. Open champion Emma Raducanu in the first round of the Western & Southern Open on Tuesday night.

"We all should honor Serena and her amazing career," Raducanu told reporters. "I'm so grateful for the experience to have been able to play her and for our careers to have crossed over. Everything she's achieved is so inspirational. It was a true honor to share the court with her."

Williams, who's expected to wrap up her legendary career at this year's U.S. Open beginning Aug. 29, didn't speak with the media following the loss.

The 23-time Grand Slam singles champion announced in Vogue earlier this month she would be "evolving away from tennis," noting she didn't like the word retirement.

Williams didn't formally state in the piece that the U.S. Open would mark the final event of her career, but the timing suggested that will be the case, and it would be fitting to wrap up her Hall of Fame run in the event where she won her first Grand Slam title in 1999.

"But I'm not looking for some ceremonial, final on-court moment," Williams said. "I'm terrible at goodbyes, the world's worst. But please know that I am more grateful for you than I can ever express in words. You have carried me to so many wins and so many trophies. I'm going to miss that version of me, that girl who played tennis. And I'm going to miss you."

Her 23 major titles in singles ranks second in women's tennis history behind only Margaret Court (24). She's also captured 16 Grand Slam doubles titles (14 women's and two mixed) and four Olympic gold medals (three doubles and one singles).

The loss to Raducanu dropped her singles record to 1-3 since her return from injury at the 2022 Wimbledon tournament.

It leaves an uncertain outlook heading into the U.S. Open. Her power game still gives her a distinct advantage over a majority of the WTA Tour players when healthy, but she's yet to showcase top form for an extended stretch in these past few months.

The lopsided result against Raducanu shows how much work there is to do in a limited amount of time if she wants to make a deep run in New York, but there's also plenty of motivation with the end of her career on the horizon and Court's record still within reach.

Regardless of how Williams' playing days come to an end, she'll go down as one of the greatest tennis players in history and perhaps the most dominant when at the peak of her powers.

That said, one more magical run in a Grand Slam would be a fitting way to walk away from the sport.

One day after announcing her intentions to retire from tennis, Serena Williams was defeated by Belinda Bencic in the second round of the National Bank Open on Wednesday night. Bencic won in straight sets 6-2, 6-4.

Williams took the first point in the first set but quickly lost momentum as Bencic won the next three points. Bencic managed to break Williams twice in the set to take the victory.

In the second set, Williams once again opened strong and took a 3-2 lead. But Bencic rattled off three straight points to take the advantage. Williams managed to hold serve on the next point, but Bencic did the same to take match point. After the match, Williams was honored on the court for her last tournament in Toronto:

On Tuesday, Williams wrote in a personal essay for Vogue that she plans on ending her legendary career after the 2022 U.S. Open, which will begin Aug. 29.

"I have never liked the word retirement," Williams stated. "It doesn't feel like a modern word to me. I've been thinking of this as a transition, but I want to be sensitive about how I use that word, which means something very specific and important to a community of people. Maybe the best word to describe what I'm up to is evolution. I'm here to tell you that I'm evolving away from tennis, toward other things that are important to me."

Williams' win in the first round Tuesday over Nuria Parrizas-Diaz was her first victory since the 2021 French Open. The National Bank Open is just her second tournament of the season after she returned to competition a little over a month ago at Wimbledon, where she was defeated in the first round by Harmony Tan.

Bencic will face Garbiñe Muguruza in the third round Thursday.

Serena Williams sent shockwaves through the tennis world on Tuesday when she announced her intention to retire after the 2022 U.S. Open.

Unsurprisingly, there is massive intrigue for the legendary athlete's last run, and Williams' announcement has led to a spike in ticket sales for the event set to begin on Aug. 29.

Sports Illustrated's Jon Wertheim reports that 13,000 tickets have been sold since the news, including a near sell-out for opening night:

"I have never liked the word retirement," Williams wrote for Vogue. "It doesn’t feel like a modern word to me. I’ve been thinking of this as a transition, but I want to be sensitive about how I use that word, which means something very specific and important to a community of people. Maybe the best word to describe what I’m up to is evolution. I’m here to tell you that I’m evolving away from tennis, toward other things that are important to me."

The 23-time Grand Slam singles champion is one of the most successful athletes across any sport. She also has 14 doubles titles and four Olympic gold medals.

Tennis legend Serena Williams announced her farewell to tennis in an essay for Vogue, creating a significant reaction around the sports world.

"I have never liked the word retirement," Williams said. "It doesn’t feel like a modern word to me. I’ve been thinking of this as a transition, but I want to be sensitive about how I use that word, which means something very specific and important to a community of people. Maybe the best word to describe what I’m up to is evolution. I’m here to tell you that I’m evolving away from tennis, toward other things that are important to me. "

Many fans offered her support following the announcement:

Williams has been one of the most successful athletes in any sport during her era, winning 23 Grand Slam singles titles with 14 doubles titles, adding four Olympic gold medals.

Serena Williams is arguably the greatest tennis player of all time, but before Monday she hadn't won a match since the 2021 French Open because of injuries.

She got back to her winning ways at the National Bank Open, however, beating Nuria Parrizas Diaz 6-3, 6-4 in opening round play.

"It's just one win, you know, it takes a lot. But I was happy, like I said, to have a win," Williams told reporters after the match. "It's been a very long time. I forgot what it felt like."

Williams last played at Wimbledon in June, losing her only match at the All-England Club to Harmony Tan.

"Mentally I feel I'm getting there. I'm not where I normally am and I'm not where I want to be," Williams said Monday. "Physically I feel much better in practice, it's just like getting that to the court. But literally I'm the kind of person who it just takes one or two things and then it clicks. So I'm just waiting on that to click."

The 40-year-old has dominated the women's game for the past two decades, winning 23 Grand Slam titles, just one behind Margaret Court's record-setting 24. When Williams won the Australian Open in 2017, her last Grand Slam conquest, it seemed a foregone conclusion that she would not only surpass Court, but shatter that mark.

But a combination of injuries and health issues, a natural decline that comes with age and a pregnancy hiatus kept her regularly on and off the court in the years to follow.

When asked about how much longer she would continue to play, Williams remained cagey.

"I guess there's just a light at the end of the tunnel," she told reporters, laughing. "I don't know, I'm getting closer to the light, so... Lately that's been it for me. I can't wait to get to that light."

"Freedom," she continued when asked what the light she referenced represented. "I love playing though, so it's like amazing. But, you know, I can't do this forever. So it's just like sometimes you just want to try your best to enjoy the moments and do the best that you can."

Perhaps Williams still has Court in her sights. For now, picking up a win after a long drought is a start.

Serena Williams will be at the All England Club for the 2022 Wimbledon tournament, but she'll look to make her mark as an unseeded wild card.

The seedings for the men's and women's bracket were released Tuesday, and Williams expectedly failed to draw a seed after her yearlong absence from the sport. She has not played competitive tennis since withdrawing in the first round of last year's Wimbledon, causing her to fall to No. 1,223 in the world.

Novak Djokovic and Rafael Nadal sit as the No. 1 and No. 2 seeds, respectively, on the men's side of the bracket. Daniil Medvedev, the world's top-ranked player, is not eligible to compete at Wimbledon after the All England Club banned Russian and Belarusian players following Russia's military invasion of Ukraine. World No. 2 Alexander Zverev is dealing with an ankle injury and will not participate.

Wimbledon seedings are determined by official rankings.

Draws for the tournament will be held Friday, a day that could prove critical for Williams as she looks to get back into major championship form. Likewise, her wild-card status will likely cast fear into seeded opponents who will hope to avoid the 23-time Grand Slam winner in the early rounds.

By virtue of landing the top two seeds, Nadal and Djokovic would not meet until a potential matchup in the finals.

Nadal defeated Djokovic in the quarterfinals of the 2022 French Open on his way to winning a record-extending 14th title at Roland Garros. Djokovic was barred from the Australian Open over his COVID-19 vaccination status and lost in France, leaving him halfway through the Grand Slam schedule without a title.

With Nadal having won the first two majors of the season, he has a two-championship lead over Djokovic for the all-time record.