thanks for doing
Serena WilliamsThis
US Open Won’t be like anyone else.
whether it really proves to be his last event or not
Long, Story and Impressive Sports Career – And in professional tennis, perhaps more than in any other sport, goodbyes sometimes meet again – two weeks
Hard-court tournament starting Monday at Flushing Meadows And the conclusion of the 2022 Grand Slam calendar will, first and foremost, be about
Williams,
As long as she stays in the field, at least.
That’s fitting, because the past two decades and then some tennis, in general, and the US Open, in particular, have been about Williams, who turns 41 next month. He has unmistakable skill with racket in hand and indomitable drive to be the best that has led to
23 major singles championships1 ranking and Olympic gold medal, and that outstanding, noticeable quality that
made her a celebrity Like a superstar athlete.
“In my view, he revolutionized tennis,” said Chris Evert, who won 18 Majors in the 1970s and 1980s. “She revolutionized power in sports. And I feel like she’s really inspired women of color, because we’ve seen a lot more women of color playing sports. And I think she’s done women’s competition. It’s okay to be brutal and passionate and outspoken, to be passionate on the court, and still be a woman.”
The way Williams – and, of course, her older sister, 42-year-old Venus, owner of seven Slam singles titles and Serena’s partner to 14 major doubles trophies – has changed the game and many are, and expand. Along the way his fast serve and swiftly moving groundstrokes inspired, or even forced, other players to either try to match that style or figure out how to counter it. How to try
“They both had something in them,” said Rick Mackie, a tennis coach who worked with the Williams siblings in the early 1990s. “When we competed or did competitive practice, I saw something I’d never seen before. He tried so hard to get a ball, he almost fell. Now you can push harder; it doesn’t mean That you’re going to be the world champion. But it was just another level.”
Williams has said she doesn’t know how to define her legacy, but it is around, whether embodied by players who credit her with being an inspiration, such as French Open runner-up Coco Gough, or in the rules. Clearly the change is, or at least likely is, a product of episodes involving him.
An example: a line could be drawn from the US Tennis Association’s decision to allow in-match coaching for women and men in a Grand Slam tournament for the first time since the chaotic final of the 2018 US Open this year, in which Williams ended Naomi docked a game after receiving a warning from her then-coach Patrick Mouratoglu about receiving instructions while losing to Osaka.
Another example: the prevalence of electronic line-calling, to the point that there are no longer line judges in US Open matches, can be traced back to the quarterfinal match at Flushing Meadows in 2004 in which Williams lost several wrong decisions. Jennifer Capriati.
At the US Open alone, there were other run-ins with officials (who can forget a foot-fault broah in the 2009 semi-final against Kim Clijsters), great fashion choices (a catsuit in 2002; knee-high boots two years later). ) and lots of victories, dating back to 1999, when 17-year-old Williams defeated Martina Hingis for her opening Grand Slam trophy.
So Arthur Ashe Stadium would provide a fitting backdrop for the farewell, although Williams did not explicitly state that she would never compete again after the US Open, telling the world through an essay in Vogue that she Was ready to start “grow away from”. tennis” to have a second child and focus on pursuing her professional interests.
Every time she steps on the court in New York she will be treated as if it were her last. It will start with a first-round match against 27-year-old Danka Kovinic of Montenegro, who is ranked 80th and has never been past the third round in a major tournament.
It will be only the fifth singles match for Williams in the past 12 months, as the American was out of action at Wimbledon last year with a first-round injury until his first round loss this year. Since returning from that hiatus, Williams is 1-3, including straight sets defeats against Tokyo Olympic gold medalist Belinda Bencic and 2021 US Open champion Emma Radukanu, her two most recent appearances.
There was a time – not long ago, in the scheme of things – that Williams was considered the favorite in every match and in every tournament, especially in the four events that matter most in the sport.
“I say: don’t underestimate him,” said ESPN analyst Evert. “But the problem is the area. The problem is that everyone is getting better too. … There are a lot of good players out there who, No. 1, aren’t afraid of him; and No. 2, know he’s at his best at the moment. No, and No. 3, wants to beat him.”
Two days before losing to Bencic in Toronto, and one day before revealing her thoughts about retirement (a word she said she disliked), Williams said in a news conference: “I’ve always wanted to do it. can’t for.”
It’s true, of course. However, no one expects that this will be the last time the world hears of him, even if there are actually no matches left to play.
“At the end of the day, his biggest stage was tennis,” said Williams coach Mackie years ago, “but I think his biggest work is yet to come.”
