Serena William's dreams to claim 24th Grand Slam title came an end after a defeat to Victoria Azarenka in the semi-finals of the US Open in the early hours of Friday morning.
The American won the first set 6-1 but her Belarusian opponent won the last two sets 6-3 at the USTA Billie Jean King National Tennis Center to set up US Open final showdown with Naomi Osaka.
The 23 Grand Slam winner was hindered by a jarred ankle in the final set.
According to her, "Hopefully it inspires women to go after their dreams," she said. "I feel like you can't always identify yourself as just one thing. You have many things you can do in your life.
"Being a parent is the most important thing in my life but I'm a tennis player on the court, I'm a fighter on the court and, when I go after my dreams, inspire my child and I hope that women around the world know they can do anything because being a parent is the toughest thing so once you can balance that you can do anything," she said.
Meanwhile, Azarenka, 31, said her mental game had been crucial in beating the 38-year-old Williams.
"I have been working on finding a calm mind and keep the body going," the Belarusian said in an on-court interview.
"She dug me in a big hole in the first set. I needed to find energy to climb out of the hole and it wasn't easy," Azarenka said.
Azarenka will now meet Japan's Naomi Osaka on Saturday in her third final at Flushing Meadows.
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