After a 27-year career, Serena Williams officially retired from tennis last Friday. Williams, now a 40-year-old mother, shocked the world one last time with an upset over 26-year-old Anett Kontaveit, the No.2 player in the world. 

This last display of endurance only adds to a long list of accomplishments that cement Williams’ GOAT status. Serena set the record for most Grand Slams in the open era in one of the toughest periods of competition in tennis history, battling the likes of her sister, Venus Williams, and Maria Sharapova for Grand Slam after Grand Slam. She won her first Grand Slam at 17 and her last at 35, entering the record books as both one of the youngest Grand Slam winners and the oldest Grand Slam winner in the history of the Women’s Tennis Association. In fact, when she won her X title, she was pregnant. 

Serena may not have as many weeks at No.1 as Steffi Graf in the ‘90s, or as many overall Grand Slams as Margaret Court earned in the amateur and open era, or as many decades on court as Martina Navratilova. But Serena has set herself apart as the greatest server in the history of women’s tennis and established herself as the best player alive for a full decade in the 2000s and early 2010s. 

Her GOAT status extends beyond on-the-court achievements. Williams has officially retired, but her legacy lives on in the next stars of American tennis. 

Coco Gauff, a black 18 year old tennis player ranked No.12 in the world, credited Serena with her decision to pursue tennis as a career. “Especially, like, growing up, before I was born, there wasn’t many [black tennis players] before Serena came along. There was not really an icon of the sport that looked like me.” Gauff became the youngest female quarterfinalist at the US Open in 13 years. 

Frances Tiafoe, a 24 year old tennis player who affectionately calls Serena his “big sis,” also attributed his success to Serena. “She’s special on and off court,” Tiafoe said. “Serena Williams and Venus Williams is why Frances Tiafoe is even a name.” Tiafoe beat World No.3 Rafael Nadal to become the only American ATP quarterfinalist at the US Open. 

Her off-the-court impact is one reason Serena does not call the end of her tennis career a “retirement,” instead writing in a Vogue essay that she is “evolving away” from tennis. Serena plans to focus on her family and Serena Ventures, a venture capital firm that has already invested in 55 different companies. After giving the world 27 years of unparalleled tennis, she’s ready to build another legacy.