Tearful Serena begins farewell tour with Toronto defeat

Serena Williams admitted to being “terrible at goodbyes” as the American legend said “goodbye Toronto” after suffering her first defeat since announcing her imminent retirement from tennis.

The 6-2 6-4 second-round loss to Belinda Bencic at the National Bank Open came just a day after the 23-time Grand-Slam champion revealed in a Vogue article she was “evolving away from tennis” and planned to retire from the sport she has dominated for over two decades.

“It was a lot of emotions obviously,” Williams told the crowd on Wednesday.

“I love playing here, I’ve always loved playing here. I wish I could have played better but Belinda played so well today. It’s been an interesting 24 hours.

“As I said in the article, I’m terrible at goodbyes. But, goodbye Toronto.”

“Anyways, this is what it is,” she told the crowd in Toronto as she wiped away a tear.

“I was really happy to be out here today and play in front of you guys, thanks for the support,” she said, gesturing toward the fans behind her, who roared back.

“Thank you,” she said with a grin as the presentation ended with a gift to her from the Toronto Maple Leafs NHL and the Toronto Raptors NBA franchises.

Williams has committed to playing at the Western and Southern Open in Cincinnati next week as well as the US Open later this month, and it appears that will be her final tournament. – Sky Sports