‘I always did love Australia...’ – Serena Williams refuses to officially call it quits following US Open defeat
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ByEurosport
Updated 03/09/2022 at 09:15 GMT
Serena Williams has refused to confirm that her illustrious professional tennis career is over following defeat in the US Open. The 23-time Grand Slam winner recently revealed that she plans to ‘evolve away’ from tennis and it was largely thought that her appearance at Flushing Meadows would be her last as a professional. However, she hasn't gone as far as officially confirming her retirement.
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Serena Williams has dropped yet another hint that her illustrious professional tennis career may not be over following defeat in the US Open.
The 23-time Grand Slam winner recently revealed that she plans to ‘evolve away’ from tennis and it was largely thought that her appearance at Flushing Meadows would be her last as a professional.
Indeed, the febrile build-up to each of her US Open matches felt like a farewell to one of the true sporting greats, and the 40-year-old was clearly emotional as she lost to Ajila Tomlijanovic in the third round.
But addressing her future in the game in a post-match press conference, Williams refused to confirm whether she would continue playing or not. Instead, she hinted at playing the Australian Open, which is the next Grand Slam and will be played in January 2023.
A reporter asked: “In the interview on the court you indicated there might be a little wiggle room. Is that true? Is there any wiggle room? If there is, what would it take for you to come back?"
Williams responded: “I don't know. I'm not thinking about that. I always did love Australia, though (smiling).
“But yeah, you know what, I've come a long way since last year at Wimbledon. Just not sure if that was my last moment or not. Making it a different moment I think is much better.
“Yeah, and it takes a lot of work to get here. Clearly I'm still capable. It takes a lot more than that. I'm ready to, like, be a mom, explore a different version of Serena.
“Technically in the world, I'm still super young, so I want to have a little bit of a life while I'm still walking.”
When Williams envisioned her final match, did it look something like that, she was asked. Again, the veteran was unassertive in her response.
“I don't know,” she said.
“I didn't really envision it. I mean, I don't know. Probably not. But, again, I didn't really envision it. I think it was - yeah, so I don't know.”
Does the fact that she can still compete with the best, knocking out the second seed Anett Kontaveit in the second round, make it harder for Williams to retire?
“It makes it easier, but also it makes it a little bit harder,” she told reporters.
“I was just getting better with each week. I think that is, I mean, a good note because I know that if I started sooner or played more, then I would still be competing at such a top level.”
Regardless of whether Williams continues her playing career or not, it seems definite that we haven’t seen the last of her in the world of tennis.
Asked if she will be involved in the game in the future, she responded: "For me, tennis has been such a huge part of my life, I can't imagine not being involved in tennis. I don't know what that involvement is yet.
“But I feel like it's provided me with so many opportunities. Through that, it's provided other people with so many amazing opportunities.
“I think it means so much to me in my life, and I've had so many amazing moments, that I don't see a future without it. What's my involvement? I have no idea. I think I'll be involved in some way or shape.”
For now, though, Williams is focused on resting and spending time with family after an unforgettable tournament.
“Yeah, I'm definitely resting tomorrow, and then probably spending some time with my daughter,” she said.
"I'm a super hands-on mom. I've been with her almost every single day of her life, minus two days or three days.
“Yeah, it's been really hard on her, my career. So it will be, you know, nice just to do that and spend some time with her, do things that I never really have done or had an opportunity to do. Yeah, I have such a bright future ahead of me.
“Also I'm kind of at an advantage because Covid happened. I think everyone shut down for a year. We kind of got to see what our lives would be like if we weren't playing tennis. Then I got injured last year, so I took off literally a year. So I got to see, again, like, what every day would be like to wake up and not have to go to the gym.”
Reflecting on her career, Williams singled out her triumph at Roland-Garros in 2015 as her proudest moment.
Williams was close to withdrawing from the tournament because of the flu, but, unbelievably, she struggled on to claim the trophy.
“That is definitely the one that I'm taking with me because I almost died in that event,” she said. “Somehow I won. So that was pretty awesome.”
One of Williams’ best traits has been her never-say-die attitude, and it was resilience and fight that saw her beat Lucie Safarova in the French Open final. It was also evident as she produced some of her best tennis to force a decider against Tomlijanovic, beating her opponent in a tie-break in the second set.
Asked how she would like to remembered when her professional career is officially over, Williams mentioned her fighting spirit.
She said: "I mean, there's so many things to be remembered by. Like the fight. I'm such a fighter. I don't know.
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“I feel like I really brought something, and bring something, to tennis. The different looks, the fist pumps, the just crazy intensity. I think that obviously the passion I think is a really good word. Yeah, yeah, just continuing through ups and downs. I could go on and on. But I just honestly am so grateful that I had this moment and that I'm Serena.”
“I've been down before,” she continued.
“I've been down like 5-1 I think before and come back. I don't really give up. Yeah, I think in my career I've never given up. In matches I don't give up. Definitely wasn't giving up tonight. That's kind of what I was thinking is, Just keep fighting.”
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