“There was an amazing beginning, and an even better ending” - Rick Macci pays tribute to Serena Williams following news of her imminent retirement

American tennis coach and former player Rick Macci was one of the first coaches to work with Serena Williams and Venus Williams. On Tuesday, he took to social media to pay tribute to the younger Williams sister following the announcement of her imminent retirement.

The 23-time Major champion wrote in Vogue magazine explaining her decision to retire and what she planned to do once she hung up her racquet. While she’s set to compete at the US Open this year, it could well be the last time she’ll be in action in her career.

Macci posted two images on Instagram, taken at either end of Williams' career, in praise of the American legend.

“There was an amazing beginning, and an even better ending,” he captioned the post.

The 67-year-old coach also posted a video from a couple of decades ago where he can be seen predicting the rise of the Williams sisters in tennis.

“I think the day will come that both kids might play each other in the finals of a Grand Slam. Richard [their father] is very fortunate. It’s lucky you get one in the family, but he has two,” Macci says in the video.

While praising Venus, Macci also spoke highly of Serena and called her the best athlete he trained at his academy.

“Venus Williams is a great ball striker. She's very aggressive and we're just trying to teach her to use her athletic ability to attack,” Macci says, adding, “Serena Williams is probably the best athlete that I've ever had at this academy. She's very natural, she knows where you're gonna hit it before you do. Has a lot of intangible qualities that really a lot of people can't see, but at Championship level that spells the difference.”

His words proved prophetic, as the Williams sisters have dominated the tennis world since making their tour debuts.

Venus has won seven singles, 14 women’s doubles and two mixed doubles titles across the four Grand Slams. Meanwhile, Serena has 23 singles, 14 doubles and two mixed doubles titles in the Majors.

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Serena Williams wants to grow her family and focus on business post-retirement

Serena Willaims with daughter Olympia at the 2020 Women's ASB Classic

In her letter for Vogue magazine, Serena Williams explained that her life now revolves around her daughter Olympia, who will turn five this year. She also revealed that she and husband Alexis Ohanian are planning to grow their family, with Olympia hoping for a little sister.

“In the last year, Alexis and I have been trying to have another child, and we recently got some information from my doctor that put my mind at ease and made me feel that whenever we’re ready, we can add to our family. I definitely don’t want to be pregnant again as an athlete. I need to be two feet into tennis or two feet out,” Serena Williams said.

Along with focusing on her family, the 40-year-old is also very keen to further expand her venture capital firm 'Serena Ventures' and promote the ideas on which it was built.

“I’m here to tell you that I’m evolving away from tennis, toward other things that are important to me. A few years ago I quietly started Serena Ventures, a venture capital firm. Soon after that, I started a family. I want to grow that family,” she added.