American great Serena Williams said she is looking forward to life beyond tennis after her dreams of a fairytale 24th Grand Slam win at the US Open ended in defeat on Friday night.
Serena, who turns 41 later this month, had earlier revealed she plans to "evolve" away from tennis after the US Open campaign. However, her dream run ended in the third round with a 7-5, 6-7 (4/7), 6-1 loss to Australia's Ajla Tomljanovic.
Serena had raised hopes of a stellar campaign after her second-round win over world number two Anett Kontaveit. But after her defeat in the third round, Serena said she was ready for life beyond the court.
"It takes a lot of work to get here. Clearly I'm still capable," she said. "It takes a lot more than that.
"I'm ready to, like, be a mom, explore a different version of Serena. Technically in the world I'm still super young, so I want to have a little bit of a life while I'm still walking."
Serena said she wanted to be remembered as a fighter and was proud of the impact she had on tennis.
"The fight, I'm such a fighter," she said when asked how she wanted to be remembered.
"I feel like I really brought something to tennis, a different look, the fist pumps, the just crazy intensity. Passion is a really good word."
Tiger Woods and former US First Lady Michelle Obama hailed Serena as "the greatest" as the tennis superstar headed into retirement.
"@serenawilliams you're literally the greatest on and off the court," tweeted Woods. "Thank you for inspiring all of us to pursue our dreams. I love you little sis!"
"Congrats on an amazing career, @SerenaWilliams! How lucky were we to be able to watch a young girl from Compton grow up to become one of the greatest athletes of all time," tweeted Obama.
"I'm proud of you, my friend and I can't wait to see the lives you continue to transform with your talents."
NBA superstar LeBron James called Serena the GOAT (greatest of all time).
"Congratulations to you, you had an unbelievable career," James said in a video message.
"What you have done for sport, for women is unprecedented, it's been an honour to watch your journey and conquer all the goals you set out to do. Win, lose or draw, we knew you were the greatest."
A number of celebrities watched Serena's valiant fight on Friday. They included boxing great Mike Tyson, director Spike Lee, model Bella Hadid, singer Ciara, American sports stars Russel Wilson, Saquon Barkley and others.
WOMAN AND CHILD
Director: Saeed Roustaee
Starring: Parinaz Izadyar, Payman Maadi
Rating: 4/5
Israel Palestine on Swedish TV 1958-1989
Director: Goran Hugo Olsson
Rating: 5/5
Zayed Sustainability Prize
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Defence review at a glance
• Increase defence spending to 2.5% of GDP by 2027 but given “turbulent times it may be necessary to go faster”
• Prioritise a shift towards working with AI and autonomous systems
• Invest in the resilience of military space systems.
• Number of active reserves should be increased by 20%
• More F-35 fighter jets required in the next decade
• New “hybrid Navy” with AUKUS submarines and autonomous vessels
COMPANY PROFILE
Name: Kumulus Water
Started: 2021
Founders: Iheb Triki and Mohamed Ali Abid
Based: Tunisia
Sector: Water technology
Number of staff: 22
Investment raised: $4 million
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The five pillars of Islam
1. Fasting
2. Prayer
3. Hajj
4. Shahada
5. Zakat
Who is Mohammed Al Halbousi?
The new speaker of Iraq’s parliament Mohammed Al Halbousi is the youngest person ever to serve in the role.
The 37-year-old was born in Al Garmah in Anbar and studied civil engineering in Baghdad before going into business. His development company Al Hadeed undertook reconstruction contracts rebuilding parts of Fallujah’s infrastructure.
He entered parliament in 2014 and served as a member of the human rights and finance committees until 2017. In August last year he was appointed governor of Anbar, a role in which he has struggled to secure funding to provide services in the war-damaged province and to secure the withdrawal of Shia militias. He relinquished the post when he was sworn in as a member of parliament on September 3.
He is a member of the Al Hal Sunni-based political party and the Sunni-led Coalition of Iraqi Forces, which is Iraq’s largest Sunni alliance with 37 seats from the May 12 election.
He maintains good relations with former Prime Minister Nouri Al Maliki’s State of Law Coaliton, Hadi Al Amiri’s Badr Organisation and Iranian officials.
Mohammed bin Zayed Majlis
Company Profile
Founders: Tamara Hachem and Yazid Erman
Based: Dubai
Launched: September 2019
Sector: health technology
Stage: seed
Investors: Oman Technology Fund, angel investor and grants from Sharjah's Sheraa and Ma'an Abu Dhabi
Zayed Sustainability Prize
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The burning issue
The internal combustion engine is facing a watershed moment – major manufacturer Volvo is to stop producing petroleum-powered vehicles by 2021 and countries in Europe, including the UK, have vowed to ban their sale before 2040. The National takes a look at the story of one of the most successful technologies of the last 100 years and how it has impacted life in the UAE.
Read part four: an affection for classic cars lives on
Read part three: the age of the electric vehicle begins
Read part one: how cars came to the UAE
Premier League results
Saturday
Tottenham Hotspur 1 Arsenal 1
Bournemouth 0 Manchester City 1
Brighton & Hove Albion 1 Huddersfield Town 0
Burnley 1 Crystal Palace 3
Manchester United 3 Southampton 2
Wolverhampton Wanderers 2 Cardiff City 0
West Ham United 2 Newcastle United 0
Sunday
Watford 2 Leicester City 1
Fulham 1 Chelsea 2
Everton 0 Liverpool 0
UAE currency: the story behind the money in your pockets
Business Insights
- Canada and Mexico are significant energy suppliers to the US, providing the majority of oil and natural gas imports
- The introduction of tariffs could hinder the US's clean energy initiatives by raising input costs for materials like nickel
- US domestic suppliers might benefit from higher prices, but overall oil consumption is expected to decrease due to elevated costs
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GAC GS8 Specs
Engine: 2.0-litre 4cyl turbo
Power: 248hp at 5,200rpm
Torque: 400Nm at 1,750-4,000rpm
Transmission: 8-speed auto
Fuel consumption: 9.1L/100km
On sale: Now
Price: From Dh149,900
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