Serena Williams is making her last appearance at a Grand Slam before retiring from tennis as one of the best players to have ever graced the court.

A 23-time major singles champion, Williams remains in pursuit of Margaret Court’s all-time record of 24 slams, and will hope to go out on bang at the US Open.

When Williams appeared at warm-up tournament prior to Wimbledon earlier this year, fans spotted that the superstar was wearing black tape on her face. The Sporting News explains why.

Why does Serena Williams wear black tape on her face?

The small sections of plaster on Williams’ cheek are medical tape designed to help relieve the 40-year-old’s sinus problems, according to The Times.

Williams wore the tape to help her performances when she reached the doubles semifinals at Eastbourne.

The hugely popular former world number one played alongside current world number two Ons Jabeur at the tournament.

The pair were unable to compete in the final four because Jabeur had a knee injury but Williams had proved a huge hit in her first matches since tearing her hamstring at Wimbledon 2021.

What has Serena Williams said about wearing black tape on her face?

Williams spoke with characteristic openness about the issue in an interview ahead of the busy summer Grand Slam schedule in 2007.

“My secret’s out,” she told Reuters. “I’m a sinus sufferer. Playing tennis or pretty much doing anything every day is not easy when you have sinuses.

“You feel a lot of pressure, congestion and pain and training for grand slams such as… Wimbledon and the French Open, it’s not easy.”

Her tips for helping with the problem included hot showers as part of measures to keep the chest and passageways around the body clear.

She added that she uses a natural saline spray several times daily in order to keep her sinuses moist.

According to the CDC, almost 12 per cent of adults in the United States have been diagnosed with sinusitis — a total of almost 29 million people.

What time is Serena Williams’ next match at US Open 2022?

Williams will play her first US Open match on Monday, Aug. 29, at approximately 7 p.m. ET against Danka Kovinic.

Kovinic, a 27-year-old from Montenegro, is the 80th-ranked player in the world. She peaked as the 46th-ranked player in 2016. She has played in the US Open four times and participated in qualifying five times. She has never advanced past the tournament’s second round.

Kovinic and Williams have never faced off in a singles match.

Serena will also link up with her sister Venus when the two make their first doubles appearance together since the 2018 French Open, they will face Czech pair Lucie Hradecka and Linda Noskova. The Williams sisters beat Hradecka and Andrea Hlavackova for the 2012 Wimbledon doubles title.

How many times has Serena Williams won the US Open?

Serena Williams has won 23 Grand Slam titles during her career, and six of those have come at the US Open. That is tied for the most, man or woman, in the history of the major with Chris Evert.

Williams is one major title shy of tying Margaret Court for the most major wins by a tennis player. Court was dominant at the Australian Open, winning 11 of her 24 titles there, but the US Open was her second-best event. She won it five times.