Japanese star Naomi Osaka paid tribute to Serena Williams on Saturday, hailing the 23-time Grand Slam champion as the “biggest force” in tennis as she prepares to bid farewell to the sport at the US Open.

Osaka, who denied Williams a record-equalling 24th Grand Slam in the stormy 2018 final in New York, said she had been left in tears by the thought of the American’s retirement.

The 24-year-old four-time Grand Slam winner, who is of mixed heritage with a Japanese mother and American-Haitian father, added that Williams had blazed a trail for minority players.

“I think that her legacy is really wide to the point where you can’t even describe it in words,” Osaka said. 

“She changed the sport so much. She has introduced people that have never heard of tennis into the sport. I think I’m a product of what she has done. I wouldn’t be here without Serena, Venus, her whole family. I’m, like, very thankful to her.

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