Serena Williams goes down with a fight at U.S. Open to Ajla Tomljanovic in what could be her final match

For 25 years, Serena Williams dominated so fiercely, so thoroughly that her very name became synonymous with athletic greatness. But as she stared down the end of her career Friday night at Arthur Ashe Stadium, it wasn’t her unbound power that so captivated a crowd that inhaled and gasped in unison, as if functioning with a communal pair of lungs. It wasn’t her devastating forehand that had a few crying with her when it was all over.

For this last goodbye, her greatness wasn’t defined by her athleticism, but by her fierce will — the thing that didn’t abandon her, even when her legs grew heavy, and even when Ajla Tomljanovic proved unrelenting.

Williams, in what is likely her final U.S. Open and last match as she transitions out of tennis, fell to Tomljanovic, 7-5, 6-7 (4), 6-1 in the third round. And though it wasn’t what the crowd wanted — even Tomljanovic expressed regret after the match — Williams went out exactly the way she came into this sport: on her own terms. She battled a player 11 years her junior, and, in the final game, it took Tomljanovic six match points to finish the deal. Through it, Williams put on a show for the ages, fighting through fatigue, and the natural rigors of being a professional tennis player at age 40.

“It’s been a fun ride,” she said. “And it’s been the most incredible ride and journey I’ve ever been on.”

She also expressed wonder that she was just getting stronger, even hinting that she could return, though Williams made it clear that it was unlikely: “I’m ready to be a mom and explore that version of Serena,” she said.

Despite that, it was clear that tennis was still holding on dearly to this version.

In an age of distraction and discord, Williams continued to change the air around her.

She commanded the stage in her glittering black tutu, she grinded and grunted, and she united a packed stadium that tried to will her to victory — the chair umpire repeatedly muttering “please, please” to quiet them when necessary. The crowd often stood as one to cheer her on, necks and cellphones outstretched for what could be a final glimpse at greatness. And when she did appear tired, it acted like Williams’ doubles partner — tittering, cheering and calling out her name as if she were a personal friend.

No one, save, maybe, those in Tomljanovic’s family box, wanted it to end already, not after Williams’ improbable win over No. 2 Anett Kontaveit in the second round.

In return, Williams battled not like Serena Williams in her prime, but like Serena Williams now: savvy, gritty, and like someone who had nothing to lose.

“I’m just so grateful to every single person who’s ever said, ‘Go Serena’ in your life,” she said in tears.

Things didn’t start off promisingly for Williams, who had her serve broken in the first game. But displaying an agility that hasn’t always been there in these waning moments of her career, she bounced back with vigor, winning the next two games on eight straight points. Williams eventually went up 5-3, breaking the Australian’s serve on a backhand that Tomljanovic couldn’t handle before losing the next four games to drop the first set. .

Williams took the first four games in the second set but again struggled to close it out, allowing Tomljanovic to claw back to tie it at five in a set that featured an eighth game that went almost 15 minutes and featured nine deuces. Williams eventually won the second set in a tiebreak.

Further exacerbating the exhausting physicality of the night, this was Williams’ third straight day playing, after choosing to team with her sister in a doubles match Thursday.

Maybe it wasn’t the decision everyone would have made, but after the loss Friday, it was clear she would not leave this game without her sister by her side. “I wouldn’t be Serena if there wasn’t Venus,” she said. “She’s the only reason Serena Williams ever existed.”

That’s a Serena who redefined tennis — confident in a way female athletes were not expected to be, with an eye-catching, iconic style, and a ferocity that made her great.

“I’m such a fighter,” Williams said. “I feel like I really brought something to tennis — a different look, the fist pumps, the crazy intensity. I think passion is a really good word . . . I’m just so grateful that I had this moment and that I’m Serena.”