Emma Raducanu said she is “grateful to have shared the court” with “inspirational” Serena Williams as she thrashed the tennis legend in their first meeting.
Raducano won 6-4, 6-0 in the first round at the Open and the Cincinnati Southern Open, the first time the women have faced each other.
It follows Williams revealing earlier this month that he is “Evolve away from tennis”with the US Open in a few weeks expected to be his final tournament.
Raducanu produced a polished performance to close out the match in just over an hour, taking the second set to love.
There is an age difference of 20 years between the two women and Williams he won his first Grand Slam in 1999, three years before his British opponent was born.
“We all have to honor Serena and her incredible career,” Raducanu told the crowd after her win.
“I’m so grateful for the experience of being able to play with her and for our careers to have crossed. Everything she’s accomplished is so inspiring and it’s been an honor to share the court with her.”
The win should also give her confidence going into the next round against Victoria Azarenka, and into the US Open, the tournament she sensationally won last year.
The 19-year-old has not come close to that performance in subsequent Grand Slams and lost in the second round at Wimbledon this summer.
Williams fans may still cling to the fairytale possibility that she can do something special at Flushing Meadows, but the odds are firmly against the 40-year-old adding to her 23 Grand Slams.
Revealing her plans to call time on her career, she wrote to Vogue: “I’m in so much pain. It’s the hardest thing I can ever imagine. I hate it.”
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Serena will compete at the US Open at the end of August, which will be her final tournament. Image: AP
“I’ve never liked the word retirement. It doesn’t seem like a modern word to me,” he added.
“Maybe the best word to describe what I’m doing is evolution. I’m here to tell you that I’m evolving away from tennis, towards other things that are important to me.”