Serena Williams' tennis career may have already ended, but there is no doubt her legacy will live on. Just look at American tennis sensation Frances Tiafoe who beat Rafael Nadal in their US Open clash on Monday.

After the huge victory, Tiafoe opened up about Williams and shared the massive impact she had on his career. If not for Serena and her sister Venus paving the way, perhaps Tiafoe won't be playing tennis today.

“Obviously the GOAT Serena Williams. She's definitely the reason why I think I can do the things I'm doing. When I'm younger, the reason why I even said to my dad that I can be a professional tennis player is seeing her and Venus battle each other,” Tiafoe shared.

“She changed the game forever,” Tiafoe added before emphasizing that Serena is in the Mount Rushmore of the GOAT athletes in their respective sports like Tom Brady and Tiger Woods.

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Serena Williams has inspired countless athletes to pursue tennis with her success story. Aside from Frances Tiafoe, WTA star Coco Gauff also got the motivation to play the sport because of the icon.

Many probably wished that Serena had gone deeper in the US Open. After all, it would have been a storybook ending had she capped her career with a grand slam win at home in the US Open. She made it all the way to the third round of the competition, but Ajla Tomljanović stopping her in her tracks.

Despite the defeat, Serena truly has nothing left to prove. And clearly, she is far from gone from the sport, with the fire he started still burning wild inside the athletes he inspired.

Sure enough, home fans will be rooting for both Tiafoe and Gauff as they both look to make their idol proud by winning the US Open title.