Ahead of Serena Williams’ final U.S. Open, fans express their appreciation for her career and achievements on and off the court.
Serena Williams’ fans are pumped up ahead of US Open originally appeared on NBC Sports Washington
Serena Williams’ fans from around the world have traveled to Flushing Meadows, N.Y. to catch the GOAT in action one last time.
Williams, 40, is set to take on Montenegro’s Danka Kovinić in the opening round of the 2022 US Open on Monday night at 7 p.m. ET and fans have been decked out in gear to support the legend all day long.
A stand-out squad has been a group of five ladies from Indiana, repping homemade Williams’ shirts. The front of their shirts read “Unapologetic Greatness The GOAT” while the backs say “She played the game like her life depended on it and … She changed the game forever!”
They designed the shirts by hand to celebrate their favorite player’s last tournament before her impending retirement.
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When asked if Williams will win the tournament, one of the ladies said, “I’m a believer.”
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“Serena represents something for brown and black girls across the country, that you can overcome, you can play tennis, you can play golf, you can be an airline pilot. You can be anything you want to be,” said another. “Serena is excellence. She’s the greatest of all time and we love you Serena.”
“There are a whole lot of players playing tennis because of Serena,” said another woman. “Tennis is more diverse than ever, and we’re so excited to be part of it.”
The 23-time Grand Slam singles champion embarks on her last competition starting on Monday and she was not going in without a bang.
Williams unveiled her outfit for Monday night’s opener, which featured black NikeCourt Flare 2 shoes, part of her jewelry collection, that are glistening in Swarovski crystals.
Williams will also be rocking out in a figure skating-inspired Nike dress composed of six layers to represent all the titles she has won at the Slam.
To add on to the excitement for these ladies from Indiana, Twitter has made it so that fans will be able to interact with the intense action on social media. A special goat “hashmoji” will be featured in any tweets that include the following hashtags: #Serena, #SerenaWilliams or #ThankYouSerena.
