Tennis-Serena retirement heralds sunset of sport's golden era

A banner advertising the match of veteran tennis player Serena Williams, who said that she plans to retire after the 2022 U.S. Open, hangs above a ticket booth outside a stadium at the National Bank Open in Toronto, Ontario, Canada August 9, 2022. REUTERS/Chris Helgren

(Reuters) - The likely end of Serena Williams' tennis career has left the game staring at the beginning of the end of the sport's golden era, a dreaded prospect that has long been on the horizon.

The American, who will turn 41 this month, bid an emotional goodbye to the U.S. Open with a third-round loss to Australian Ajla Tomljanovic on Friday, in what may have been the last singles match of her glittering career.