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Louise Thomas
Editor
Serena Williams has officially made her 2025 US Open debut as a fan.
The former tennis pro arrived at the famed tournament on August 31 to watch from the stands in a full denim ensemble and circle-frame sunglasses.
Williams’s appearance in Flushing, Queens marked her first time back at the event since she played in the 2022 US Open, the last tournament of her 27-year tennis career, against Ajla Tomljanovic.
For the Saturday events, Williams watched from a suite as Jannik Sinner, the top player in the men’s division, beat Christopher O’Connell. Meanwhile, on September 1, the legendary athlete was spotted back again – this time inside the USTA Billie Jean King National Tennis Center for Grigor Dimitrov’s match against Andrey Rublev.
Upon her arrival on August 31, Williams was greeted by the tournament head Stacey Allaster. The two were pictured together and spotted about the stadium.
What’s more, the mother of two caught up with Iga Swiatek, the current top-ranked women’s competitor, before her match against Anastasia Pavlyuchenkova. Swiatek was reportedly pleased to have spoken to Williams ahead of her game, noting how sweet it was of her to come to watch the tournament.
“It was really nice to see her. She has a lot of positive energy. It’s nice that she came on-site and she was chatting with the players,” Swiatek said, per WTATennis.com. “Because for me, I still felt — even though we met before and for like [a] couple of years we have been on the same sides and on tour together — she’s still, like, star-striking to me.
“It was nice that she approached me because I wouldn’t find courage to do that if it was the other way,” she continued. “I’m happy that she’s following tennis and my game because she told me that she’s cheering for me. It’s always nice to hear that from somebody like Serena.”
Williams officially retired in 2022 after facing off against Tomljanović in the third round of the women’s singles in the US Open. In an interview with Bradley Cooper for History Talks, a program on the History Channel, Williams opened up about knowing she needed to end her tennis career after the US Open.
“I always said I wanted to stop when I’m playing really good tennis and winning and beating good players,” she told the actor, according to Vanity Fair. “For me, it’s really about things I want to do spiritually and spending time with my daughter and family.
“As a super hands-on mom, I can’t tell you how hard it was. I lost so many matches after I had Olympia because it was so hard to be on the court,” she continued. “I feel like I’ve given so much of my life to tennis, my entire life, that it’s time to do something different for me and also work on other things.”
The six-time women’s singles title holder gave birth to her second daughter, Adira Rivera, with her husband Alexis Ohanian on August 22, 2023. The couple welcomed their first daughter, Alexis Jr, in September 2017.
