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New York (AFP) – After an extraordinary professional career of 27 years, Serena Williams could experience her farewell to tennis in front of her audience at the US Open, the same stage where she began to establish herself as one of the great sports icons of her country.
At 40 years old, and with little activity in recent seasons, Williams clarified his sporting future this month by announcing that the “countdown” to his retirement had begun.
His last big event aims to be the US Open, the fourth Grand Slam of the year, where on Monday he will attract all the spotlight in his debut against the Montenegrin Danka Kovinic (WTA number 80).
“There comes a time in life when we have to decide to go in a different direction,” Williams wrote in her farewell announcement. “It’s always a tough time when we love what we do so much. And God knows I love tennis.”
“But now the countdown has begun. I have to focus on being a mother, on my spiritual goals and finally discovering a different Serena, but just as exciting. I’m going to savor these next few weeks,” she then advanced.
Williams’ emotional farewell, and with it the end of an era in tennis, could come in the same place where she won the first of her 23 Grand Slam titles in 1999 at the age of 17, beating Martina Hingis in the final.
That victory confirmed what had been intuited since her professional debut four years earlier: Williams, and along with her older sister Venus, was a powerful emerging force in women’s tennis.
His victory against Hingis began the greatest dominance of any tennis player in the Open era (since 1968) monopolizing 23 Grand Slam titles, a figure only surpassed by the 24 of Margaret Court, retired in 1977.
record collection
Though unlikely to chase down Court at the last minute at Flushing Meadows, Williams has a collection of his own that are unlikely to be broken.
With seven Australian Open, seven Wimbledon and six US Open singles titles, the American is the only tennis player, male or female, to have triumphed at least six times at three different Grand Slams.
In total, she has 39 major tournament titles, with 14 women’s doubles crowns and two mixed doubles crowns, in addition to her 23 individual victories.
Its longevity is also unmatched. The first time she climbed to number one in the WTA rankings was in 2002 and the last time she held that position was in 2017, a reign extended by 15 years.
Williams also holds the record for the largest age difference between her first and last Grand Slam wins. A total of 17 years and 139 days elapsed between her victory at the 1999 US Open and the 2017 Australian Open, when she was pregnant with her daughter Olympia.
The American has also collected four Olympic gold medals: three with her sister Venus as her partner in doubles in 2000, 2008 and 2012, and another singles in London-2012.
“Amateur Fantasy”
Williams’ farewell to tennis has mobilized New York City in recent weeks.
The announcement of his withdrawal caused fans to sell out tickets for the first three nights of the tournament. Secondary ticket markets also saw prices rise, as much as 34% since the beginning of August.
In an exercise in sincerity, Williams herself admitted that her chances of lifting a 24th Grand Slam title are a “fan fantasy”.
“I get it,” he said this month. “It’s a good fantasy. But I’m not looking for a final, ceremonial moment on the pitch. I’m terrible at goodbyes, the worst in the world.”
Williams’ recent results have raised fears of a possible first-round exit. In her first match after her retirement announcement, Williams lost in straight sets to Belinda Bencic in Toronto. In her next match, in Cincinnati, she was also beaten on the fast track by reigning US Open champion Emma Raducanu, a youngster born three years after Williams’ first victory in the tournament.
© 2022 AFP
