Since Serena Williams announced in August that she plans to retire after this year’s U.S. Open, all eyes have been on her and what has turned into her farewell tour. But what’s next for Venus Williams is unclear.
Venus Williams, who at 42 is about 15 months older than Serena Williams, has been vague about her plans for her future. Before this year’s U.S. Open, which she was able to enter after receiving wild cards for both the singles and the doubles draw, it had been some time since Venus Williams had played in a Grand Slam.
After losing in the second round of Wimbledon to Ons Jabeur of Tunisia last year, Williams played one match in the WTA’s Chicago Women’s Open in August 2021, losing in the first round, and then left tennis for nearly a year.
She returned to the sport last month, and struggled in three tournaments, losing in the first rounds of the Citi Open in Washington, the National Bank Open in Toronto, and the Western & Southern Open in Mason, Ohio.
“It was definitely the longest time I have been away from tennis and been without a racket in my hand,” she said after she lost to Alison Van Uytvanck of Belgium in straight sets in the first round of the singles draw on Tuesday. “It was a completely new experience for me, getting a racket back in my hand and trying to acclimate as quick as possible to be ready for the U.S. Open, which was not easy.”
Williams last played in a Grand Slam final at the Australian Open in 2017, where she lost to her sister, and last won a Grand Slam title in 2008 at Wimbledon, where she beat her sister. Her time away from tennis and the winner’s stage has left Williams ranked at No. 1,504 in the world. In 2002, she was ranked No. 1 in singles. Her low ranking means that to continue to play in tournaments, Williams will need to rely heavily on wild cards.
At her postmatch news conference on Tuesday, Williams was asked about whether she also had any plans to retire like her sister.
“Right now I’m just focused on the doubles,” she said.
When the Williams sisters walked off the court in Arthur Ashe Stadium on Thursday night after losing their first-round doubles match to Lucie Hradecka and Linda Noskova of the Czech Republic, it could have been the last time the sisters left a court together. Or was it?
The sisters did not have a postmatch news conference, but when asked on Tuesday what keeps her motivated, Williams was short and quick to reply.
“Three letters is W-I-N,” she said. “That’s it. Very simple.”
Since Serena Williams announced in a Vogue cover story that she planned to evolve “away from tennis, toward other things that are important,” she has sprinkled some uncertainty about her own retirement plans.
“I’ve been pretty vague about it, right?” Serena Williams said, smiling after her first-round win against Danka Kovinic. “I’m going to stay vague because you never know.”
Source: Tennis - nytimes.com
