TORONTO—Serena Williams wore her game face when she stepped out into the stadium for her first match since telling the world she is ready to leave professional tennis.
Greeted by a standing ovation, the 23-time Grand Slam champion didn’t smile. She didn’t wave. She took a sip from a plastic bottle as she walked in.
Some folks in the crowd captured the moment with the cameras on their cellphones. Others held aloft handrawn signs—oh, so many signs—with messsages such as “Queen” or “Thank you.”
No one knows exactly how many more matches Williams will play before she puts her rackets away for good, and the 40-year-old American exited the National Bank Open on Wednesday night with a 6–2, 6–4 loss to Belinda Bencic….