Serena Williams career appears to be over - loses in US Open

But is commenting on it ok or not?

When I saw the "Serena lost" heading, I knew this would be a standard, racist letsrun.com post.

I admit I don't follow tennis closely. Still, I'd consider Serena not only the greatest female tennis player, but the greatest tennis player (period), and probably the greatest athlete I've ever seen on television. Sorry, you stick-figure runners, Serena has always carried extra weight and she's still the greatest athlete ever.

Oh, mercy me, she's exhibited "inappropriate" court behavior a few times. She's also a good person, successful entrepreneur, mother, role model.

Yesterday, an hour before her last match, I was having a draught in a bar and watched Serena doing a warm-up with her coach. It was so cool. Even better than the match. Too bad you racist trolls at letsrun.com couldn't enjoy the GOAT.

On LRC or in "real" life. In your office, you are not supposed to ask your co-worker, "do you think Mary gained some weight recently?"

Yes, this changed everything for me. It was one of the most unsporting things I had ever seen. If I recall she even threatened to kill the line judge? Disgraceful, I had always admired Serena but not after this.

Are you going to be OK? Do you need some time alone in your safe space?

For better or for worse, every single day, people openly root against and mock public figures on these boards. However, it’s apparently taboo to venture into the space of a select few, and when it’s done, the SJWs such as yourself come out with the trumpets blaring “RACISM”. So pathetic and predictable.

Pretty telling that you admitted to not following tennis closely, but then unequivocally state she’s the greatest athlete ever, and is the tennis GOAT. Absolutely hilarious. Thanks for your, ahem,“expertise” on these matters.

Really? You believe she can beat the top men’s tennis players?! You are obviously ignorant on this topic. Please stick to what you know.

Is there another top tennis player obviously carrying as much weight as she is? It that not something that legitimately draws attention?

I suppose you don't listen to music closely either but can tell us that Barry Manilow is the greatest musician ever.

The USO debacle involving Osaka was comparable. She is a very poor sport - and quite the Queen narcissist.

When a nonrunner ridicules a runner or the sport of running because they don't understand it. We get upset. I would expect an appreciation thread from here to Serena since she's not a runner. Recognizing her accomplishments and abilities. And showing how she defied the odds. To use the tennis courts her father fist fought the drug dealers each time he wanted his daughters to practice tennis there. He took the beatings. It's very disappointing to read the rhetoric here about Serena. She's a tennis great and not a runner. But people are relishing in her loss and end of her career. If Serena decided to run a celebrity marathon she would grow the sport of running. I doubt she would use her platform to ridicule runners or the sport. We need to show respect to the pro-athletes in other sports. If we expect them to appreciate the sport of running. It would have been respectful to show appreciation to a great tennis player retiring rather than jumping for joy that she lost.

the racist middle aged white folk on here will be loving this!

Serena makes more posters here afraid or angry than any other public figure in recent memory including Naomi Osaka, Sha'Carri Richardson, and Alexandria Ocasio-Cortez. That's saying something. She inspires far more threads on here than most pro distance runners, which is a clear indicator of her relevance in history well beyond her being the greatest tennis player to play the game. Now that she is retired, it will be interesting to see for whom Letsrunners start foaming at the mouth and drawing their knives each time they see them accomplishing great things and inspiring millions around the world. Lets see if they bring that same energy for someone who actually partakes of the disciplines they profess to be passionate about, or if they reserve it for what they consider to be 'easy' targets.

What complete and utter nonsense.

At any rate, a guy like Brady gets routinely buried on message boards like this, and I’m sure you don’t care what that’s going to do about his views on running.

She was a great tennis player. Undoubtedly she was one of the most successful - leaving Margaret Court's record aside for a moment - and she and her sister Venus changed the women's game by introducing previously unforeseen power and the presence of African-Americans to the top of a predominantly white sport. Others have now caught up with her power game. But for a while Henin was a better more skilled player - who often had her measure - and before her players like Hingis, Graf, Seles, Navratilova, Evert, King and Court also defined the best in women's tennis in their own way.

As great a player as Serena was, she hasn't always been the best ambassador for women's tennis - except to those wilfully blind to her displays of classnessless, poor sportsmanship and self-absorption. She has polarised tennis fans, inspiring a mixture of unalloyed devotion and distaste, and outside the usual "pr" tributes her legacy remains mixed. But greatness rarely includes perfection of character.

I don't believe for a second she is the best player ever. Let her line up for the men's tournament at a major and she might make it out of the first round. To be the best you have to have the capacity to beat all your competitors consistently regardless of gender. With very few exceptions the best ever in any sport will me male.

I just don't think she is a good sport and she gets so mad about everything. I like happy athletes.

serena herself told letterman in an interview she would be double bageled by Murray in 5 minutes, citing mens and womens tennis complete different sports.

I think she and venus played a male nobody (like 300 in the rankinfgs) 20 years ago and lost.

Brady has an entire season ahead of him. And your statement isn't relevant. Serena isn't routinely mentioned on the boards because she plays tennis and that's understandable. But now that she's retired the only reference here is about her losing. Your Brady comment is asinine.

The reference here isn't her losing, it is that she has said her career ends at this year's USO. It has now ended. You clearly haven't followed that.

She wouldn't make it out of the first round against any of the men. None of the women would. There is a gulf between men and women's tennis.