The atypical 2022 tennis season arrives this Monday (29) with its last Grand Slam. The sport’s bumpy year hits the United States, which won’t host the unvaccinated Novak Djokovic, but has one big attraction: the farewell of a legend.
Serena Williams, 40, announced earlier this month that she was retiring. The American did not specify a date for the goodbye, but it is likely that the competition will be the last of her career and, almost certainly, her final participation in a “major”.
Winner of 23 Slams, the tennis player spoke of “evolving beyond tennis”. In a first-person piece written for Vogue magazine, she cited the plan to give her four-year-old daughter, Olympia, a brother or sister. And she admitted that putting the racket aside is difficult.
“I’ve been reluctant to admit that I have to leave tennis behind. It’s a taboo subject. When it comes up, I start to cry. I think the only person I ever got into this subject with was my therapist,” he wrote.
“I’ve never liked the word retirement. It doesn’t seem like a modern word to me. I’ve been thinking of it as a transition, but I want to be sensitive in how I use that word, because it means something to a very specific and important community. Maybe the best word to describe it. what I’m doing is evolution,” he said.
Whatever the lexical choice, there are now few opportunities to see what for many is the greatest in tennis history in action. All eyes will be on the star in each of his matches.
Serena’s debut at the US Open is scheduled for 20:00 (BrasÃlia) this Monday. At Arthur Ashe Stadium, which houses the center court of the Flushing Meadows complex in New York, she will face Montenegrin Danka Kovinic, ranked 80th in the world. In Brazil, the tournament will be shown by SportTV 3, ESPN 2 and Star+.
Williams is currently ranked 605th on the WTA (Professional Tennis Association) list. Pulled from the circuit for the birth of Olympia in 2017, she has been unable to regain her old form. Between 2021 and 2022, she was stopped for a year.
He returned at Wimbledon, with a hard defeat to France’s Harmony Tan. Invited to play in Toronto and Cincinnati, she managed just one win. According to the prestigious bookmaker Caesars Sportsbook, her title will pay $25 for every $1 played in her favor.
The number makes it clear that Williams is not the favourite. But if there is anyone capable of triumphing in adverse conditions, it is Serena.
US Open glory would make her equal Australia’s Margaret Court, who took 24 majors. It happens that 11 of them were conquered before 1968, when the open era began, which is why the American declared last week: “I already broke that record”.
The women’s bracket has kept surprises in store, with a good balance between the best in the world. The Brazilian Beatriz Haddad Maia, 26, comes from good results, has risen to 15th place in the ranking and has hope of a lasting campaign.
So far, the three Grand Slam series championships have had three different winners. Australian Ashleigh Barty triumphed at the Australian Open and, shortly after, surprised her by announcing her retirement at the age of 25, one of several episodes that make this an atypical year. Polish Iga Swiatek won at Roland Garros, and Russian Elena Ribakina lifted the trophy at Wimbledon.
Among men, the Grand Slam season began with the confusing arrival of Serbian Novak Djokovic in Australia. He was eventually deported for not being vaccinated against Covid-19, the same reason he couldn’t go to the United States to play the US Open.
The Spaniard Rafael Nadal took advantage of the absence, won and repeated the triumph at Roland Garros, becoming the greatest champion of “majors”, with 22 cups. At Wimbledon, which did not allow Russians because of the Russian invasion of Ukraine —Ribakina competed for Kazakhstan— and, therefore, was not worth points in the ranking, gave Djokovic, who reached 21 Slams.
Now, the tennis’ rugged 2022 makes its stop at Flushing Meadows. There’s a lot to see, but as long as Serena Williams is on the court, the eyes will be on her.
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