Serena Williams announced a few days ago that the 2022 US Open will be her final tennis event, and ticket prices have skyrocketed since then.
Williams wrote a Vogue article explaining why she felt it was the right moment to stop playing professional tennis. She only returned to the sport during the grass-court season after nearly a year out with an injury.
The 23-time Grand Slam champion wants to evolve away from tennis by focusing on other things that are important to her, such as her newfound passion for entrepreneurship and humanitarian work.
Many consider Williams to be the greatest female player in tennis history. Although her 23 Grand Slam singles titles are one fewer than Margaret Court's, some believe the much higher standard during Williams' career means she has already surpassed Court.
There will be much attention surrounding Williams' matches before her retirement. The American's final Canadian Open appearance was a second-round loss to Belinda Bencic. She will hope to go further at her final two tournaments: the Cincinnati Open and US Open.
Williams' legendary career, the attention surrounding her retirement, and her status as a national icon in the U.S. mean ticket sales for the US Open have dramatically increased since she announced it would be her final tournament.
According to ABC News reports, approximately 13,000 U.S. Open tickets were sold on Tuesday. A large number (4,500) of those are for the event's opening night despite no confirmation that Williams will play in that slot.
All the players who will compete at the US Open deserve respect, but the surge in ticket sales shows the unique attention Williams brings to the sport. She has been the leader in attracting fans to women's tennis.
The current generation of younger players will be under a lot of pressure to advance tennis when Williams' iconic career ends at the US Open.