Bella Hadid, Mike Tyson and other stars watch Serena's US Open farewell - in pictures

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.

Serena, THANK YOU. It is because of you I believe in this dream. The impact you’ve had on me goes beyond any words that can be put together and for that I say thank you, thank you, thank you, GOAT! pic.twitter.com/qeNZlC05WJ

"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