Serena Williams' legacy spans present and future

Serena Williams' influence will be felt long after she hangs up her racquet. The 23-time Grand Slam champion is expected to confirm her retirement at some point during the next US Open fortnight, ending a career that has straddled four decades and yielded a slew of records that may never be beaten.

A sporting and cultural icon, Williams, 40, along with elder sister Venus, has played a transformative role in changing the face of tennis around the world. "I think (Serena) as an athlete, not just as a tennis player, has been one of the most important athletes in the history of sport," was the verdict of Rafael Nadal, the 22-time Grand Slam singles king.

Daniil Medvedev, the reigning US Open men's singles champion, added: "In 100 years we're still going to talk about Serena Williams." Martin Blackman, the United States Tennis Association's general manager of player development, has witnessed first-hand the effect that the rise of the Williams sisters has had on the sport. Blackman, a former tennis professional who is African-American, says Serena and Venus Williams will leave lasting legacies inside and outside of tennis, noting the sisters' rise from the mean streets of south Los Angeles to the pinnacle of their sport.

"The first level of (Serena's) legacy will be a woman along with her sister and their family who were able to come out of a tough situation growing up in Compton, not a lot of resources and play a sport that was still traditionally white and quite expensive, and that story of being able to make that journey to be a champion is the first one," Blackman told AFP. Together, Blackman said, the Williams sisters have transcended tennis.

"I happen to be an African-American man. When I saw Serena and Venus come up