The US Open, the season’s final Grand Slam, has never had a story like it. It is not only the end of another spectacular year of major championship tennis; it’s the end of an era.

Serena Williams, the 40-year-old, 23-time singles Grand Slam winner, will wave goodbye to the Flushing Meadows crowd, and professional tennis, at some stage in the next two weeks.

It might be as soon as Monday or as late as 10 September, when the women’s final takes place. But it will be the end of the road.

Elite sport is dominated by stories of courage and commitment, allied to great talent and sprinkled with a healthy dose of opportunity. Serena Williams is perhaps the best embodiment of those factors.

In a profession where she started as an outsider before becoming its competitive, and even moral, centre, she has transcended tennis. There is no need for a surname. “Serena” will do, because her exploits on the tennis court changed the face of tennis and of how we view female athletes. Particularly black female athletes.

She is now an entrepreneur with multiple business interests, a philanthropist, activist, wife and mother. Oh, and for another few days at least, a professional tennis player.

Regardless of how the US Open pans out – and it’s unlikely it will end with a victory at the same venue where she claimed the first of her 23 Grand Slam singles titles in 1999 – it is Serena’s Slam.

 The ‘greatest’

Of course, the debate about the greatest-ever player is a subjective exercise because there are so many factors to consider. The era, the quality of rivals, the opportunities, health, technology, Grand Slam record, overall wins and weeks at No 1, and health are some measurements.

Serena is one Grand Slam short of the overall record held by Margaret Court. She might win her 24th Grand Slam singles title at Flushing Meadows, but it’s more likely that she will not.

Will that diminish her status as the widely accepted best player of all time?

Not according to former men’s great John McEnroe. “You can look at the accomplishments, she has the Grand Slam victories,” he said.

“The way that she moves the needle when she plays, it’s like Tiger Woods and golf. When she plays, it’s a whole different story.

“Off the court, I don’t know [her] as well, I know that she’s had a lot of difficulties in her life that she talks about in her own documentaries, but she has come out the other end as this icon, global superstar.

“Her story alone, what she represents as someone who’s an African-American girl who came from a tough situation, and became the greatest player that ever lived.

“What that represents for us, and maybe around the world, is an opportunity that it can happen to anyone, potentially.”

McEnroe’s assertion that Serena “moves the needle” is backed up by her status in the game – male or female.

Since turning professional in 1995, Serena has amassed a mind-boggling $94.6-million in prize money, more than twice as much as the second name on the list, which happens to be her older sister Venus, with $42.3-million.

“It’s hard to overstate her success,” said Victor Matheson, a sports economist at College of the Holy Cross in Massachusetts.

“There are few other examples of athletes in sport who are so far beyond the number two like that.

“Put another way, about 25,000 women have won prize money in the history of the WTA [Women’s Tennis Association] and Serena Williams has earned more than the bottom 80% of those players combined,” he said.

“She has far and away the most career earnings among female athletes and is one of the very few female athletes to be solidly in the top 20 money earners among all athletes in a given year.

“It’s very unusual in sports to see a female athlete have this sort of financial presence.”

 US Open chances

Ranked outside the top 600 and unseeded for the US Open, Serena is likely to come up against some top-seeded players early on in the tournament.

Her recent form has been poor – losing to 2021 US Open winner Emma Raducanu in Cincinnati in straight sets last week. Serena has lost three of her past four matches. She has only won one match since the 2021 French Open at Roland-Garros.

She is certainly a part-time player now, and well past the prime of her career. But she still has one of the best serves in the game, and power off either wing.

The mobility might not be quite what it was in the past, but her natural shot-making skills, deft touch, extreme power and competitive spirit are enough to make any opponent quiver at the thought of facing her at any stage.

The New York crowd, boisterous at the best of times, will bring the roof off the Arthur Ashe Stadium every time Serena steps on the court. Her opponents won’t just be playing against her; they will be facing nearly 24,000 of her compatriots.

At the 1991 US Open, American Jimmy Connors, who turned 39 during the tournament, rode the wave of feral support all the way to the semifinals before losing to up-and-coming countryman Jim Courier.

It is still one of the most talked-about runs in tennis history, but even that would pale if Serena were to launch a similar rampage through the draw.

Statistically, her odds of reaching the second week at Flushing Meadows, never mind the final, are slim. Her chances of completing the fairytale ending are almost nonexistent.

“Emotions can only carry you so far, I don’t see a Cinderella happy ending where she wins the tournament,” Martina Navratilova, winner of 18 Grand Slam singles titles and the world’s top-ranked player for 332 weeks, told Reuters.

“The way she has looked, it doesn’t look like she is going to make a miraculous comeback and win the tournament.”

But Serena is not just anybody and this is not just any tournament.

It’s her national open. It’s in New York City. To paraphrase JZ, it’s where dreams are made. There’s nothing you can’t do. Especially if your name is Serena Williams. DM

 Additional reporting by Reuters.

This story first appeared in our weekly Daily Maverick 168 newspaper, which is available countrywide for R25.