Former United States President, Barack Obama and tennis great, Billie Jean King led the tributes to Serena Williams after her U.S. Open third-round loss to Ajla Tomljanovic on Friday.
The 23-times singles Grand Slam champion’s 7-5 6-7 6-1 defeat sparked a flood of messages on social media, as current and former athletes across sport as well as the world at large celebrated her achievements of the last 25 years.
Former first lady Michelle Obama, who had appeared with Williams at events for her “Let’s Move!” campaign to promote physical activity for kids while at the White House, offered her “congrats on an amazing career”.“How lucky were we to be able to watch a young girl from Compton grow up to become one of the greatest athletes of all time,” she wrote on Twitter.
Former world number one King, who watched on from the stands on Friday, later tweeted that Williams would remain in the spotlight. Swimming great Michael Phelps hailed Williams not only for changing tennis but also empowering the next generation.
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