KEY POINTS

  • Serena Williams has won 23 Grand Slam titles
  • She last won a major title in 2017
  • U.S. Open 2022 is scheduled to begin on Aug. 29

Tennis legend Martina Navratilova has dropped a truth bomb about Serena Williams, saying she does not see a "Cinderella happy ending" for the 23-time Grand Slam winner.

Serena told Vogue Magazine earlier this month that she will bring curtains down on her decorated tennis career after the U.S. Open. She, however, did not use the word "retirement."

Ever since Serena returned to singles tennis, she has managed to win just one game and has lost two. Her latest defeat came in the hands of young Emma Raducanu at Cincinnati Masters. The U.S Open champion beat Serena 6-0, 6-4 in Ohio.

Last year, Emma surprised everyone after becoming the first qualifier in history to win the U.S. Open. However, 18-time major singles champion, Navratilova, does not believe something like that could happen with Serena at the current point of her career.

"Emotions can only carry you so far, I don't see a Cinderella happy ending where she [Serena Williams] wins the tournament. The way she has looked it doesn't look like she is going to make a miraculous comeback and win the tournament," Navratilova said in an interview, according to Yahoo Sports.

Serena is chasing Margaret Court's world record of 24 Grand Slam titles in the singles category. The American star, who last won a Grand Slam in 2017, has been struck with 23 major titles for five years now.

Serena Williams is preparing to bid farewell to tennis at next week's US Open -- the scene of her first Grand Slam singles title in 1999

"And with the stress of knowing this is likely your last tournament it doesn't help. But if anyone can overcome it would be Serena. It's hard. When I retired in '93, I told the press it was my last year which was a mistake because every single tournament was a freaking tear-jerker. Serena did it her way, which was announcing in a very glamorous way on Vogue magazine, but then she is not accepting the losses, she is not accepting what comes with it which is saying goodbye," the former World No. 1 added.

U.S. Open 2022 is scheduled to begin on Aug. 29 at New York's Flushing Meadows. Serena, who has entered the tournament through protected ranking, will face Danka Kovinić of Montenegro in the opening round.