OR an understanding of Serena Williams` tennis legacy her impact on the sport one only needed to hear what Ajla Tomljanovic said immediately after defeating the American great in the final match of her transcendent career.

Her first words were that she was sorry. Serena`s third-round loss on Friday ended hopes of a fairy-tale finish to her glittering career with the US Open title. That would have been Grand Slam title number 24 for the 40-year-old, enabling her to go level with Margaret Court`s long-standing record. But, 13 of Ms Court`s Grand Slam titles came before the Open era, when professionals could not play in majors. Serena`s 23 are the most in the Open era and unlike Ms Court, she was a trailblazer and a champion for women`s rights. She stood out not only for her on-court successes but also for her position against racism, sexism and gender inequality in tennis. She has dominated the women`s game ever since she won her maiden Grand Slam at the US Open back in 1999. Serena was so good that for the last few years, she had been playing against players who were inspired by her to pick up the racquet.

At the US Open, she was looking for a final hurrah. She had won her last Grand Slam title at the 2017 Australian Open while eight weeks pregnant. After the birth of her daughter in an emergency C-section, she defied expectations and returned to the court, making it to four Grand Slam finals only to lose all. Having won just once all year, her dominance seemed to be coming to an end as she announced last month that she was `evolving away from tennis`. Serena was targeting tennis immortality at Flushing Meadows and even though bookmakers had given her no chance, a second-round win over world number two Anett Kontaveit raised hopes of an improbable title triumph. It wasn`t to be and although Serena falls one short of Margaret Court`s historic mark, there won`t be anyone like her again.