Serena Williams bid farewell to tennis

Serena Williams waved farewell to the US Open - and her illustrious career - amid emotional scenes after she lost to Australia's Ajla Tomljanovic on a thrilling night in New York.

Williams, who turns 41 this month, expects it to be her final match.

It will end a 27-year professional career that brought 23 major singles wins and sees the American widely labelled as the greatest of all time.

Almost everyone who could rose to their feet when she departed the court on Arthur Ashe Stadium - the scene of her first major triumph in 1999 and five more of the finest wins in her storied career - for what she intends to be the last time.

Asked if she would reconsider retiring after her performances this week, Williams said: "I'm literally playing my way into this and getting better. I should have started sooner this year. I don't think so, but you never know."

"I thank everyone that's here, that's been on my side for so many years, decades. Oh my gosh, literally decades," said Williams, who played her first professional tournament as a 14-year-old in 1995.

"But it all started with my parents. And they deserve everything. So I'm really grateful for them.

The world number 46 produced a phenomenal performance to block out the noise and sense of occasion, illustrated by her clinical hitting in the final stages of a brutal contest which lasted three hours and five minutes.