Tennis fans are rushing for one last opportunity to see Serena Williams compete as a professional tennis player.
The 23-time Grand Slam singles champion—and highest-paid female athlete of all time—announced Tuesday morning that this year’s U.S. Open would be her last pro event. The USTA says that over the course of the day, it sold more than 16,500 tickets, a massive spike in interest. The day before, for example, about 3,200 tickets were sold, which the USTA says is a normal day in the weeks leading up to the event.
Interest is especially large for opening night, a slot where Williams typically makes her U.S. Open debut. More than 4,500 tickets were sold on Tuesday for that night alone, the USTA said.
Williams will retire as one of the most dominant tennis players of all time. Her 23 Grand Slam singles titles are more than any other player—man or woman—in the Open Era. She also won 14 Grand Slam doubles titles and spent 319 weeks as the WTA’s top-ranked singles player.
Off the court she’s been equally influential. Her $450 million in career earnings is top among all female athletes, including more than $350 million in endorsements since turning pro in 1995. She won $94.6 million in career prize money on the WTA Tour, more than double that of her sister Venus, who ranks second at $42.3 million. Her investments include a minority piece of the NFL’s Miami Dolphins, plus equity in Impossible Foods and Tonal.
Williams announced her retirement in a cover story that she wrote for Vogue. She cited her desire to spend more time with her investment fund, Serena Ventures, and to expand her family with her husband, Reddit co-founder Alexis Ohanian. Their only daughter, Olympia, was born in 2017.
The U.S. Open, which runs from Aug. 29-Sept. 11, is critically important to the USTA’s bottom line. The event accounted for 85% of the organization’s $477 million in revenue last year, according to its annual filing.
https://sports.yahoo.com/u-open-ticket-sales-boom-140722724.html
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