Serena Williams on Potential Return to Tennis After US Open Loss: 'You Never Know'

Serena Williams' phenomenal career is over after she fell to Ajla Tomljanović in three sets in the third round of the U.S. Open on Friday evening.

Williams, who announced in a Vogue article last month that she would be stepping away from tennis after the U.S. Open, spoke with ESPN's Mary Joe Fernandez after the match.

Fernandez asked Williams if there was any chance she could return, and she provided the following response:

Williams, 40, is a 23-time Grand Slam singles winner who has played professionally since October 1995.

Wiliiams' career accolades stand second to no one in tennis.

Her 23 Grand Slam singles titles include seven Australian Opens, three French Opens, seven Wimbledons and six U.S. Opens. In addition, she and her sister Venus Willams won 14 Grand Slam women's doubles titles.

Serena won four straight Grand Slam titles on two separate occasions (2002-2003, 2014-2015) and won 90.0 percent or more of her singles matches in four different years (2002, 2003, 2012, 2013). That includes a stunning 78-5 mark in 2013.

Williams also won Olympic gold four times (three doubles, one singles).

Frankly, even if Williams retired in the 2000s, she would have nothing left to prove. Another comeback could make for an epic storyline, but if this is it for Williams, then she goes out with an unbelievable career spanning four different decades that cemented her as the greatest tennis player in history.