NEW YORK: Serena Williams’ peers kicked off their farewell party on Friday at the US Open media day, saluting the tennis icon ahead of what is expected to be her final Grand Slam.
The 40-year-old American has announced she will be retiring after the last major of the year after winning 23 Grand Slam titles and transforming the sport, with a generation of women and girls having flocked to tennis thanks to she.
“For me, it’s still quite surreal when I see her,” Polish world number one and two-time Roland-Garros winner Iga Swiatek told reporters. “I always feel like I’m just a kid watching. I’ve watched her all my life.”
Williams begins her US Open bid on Monday against Danka Kovinic of Montenegro facing a tricky road with second seed Anett Kontaveit possibly waiting for the winner.
“She showed me how to be strong, how to be independent, how to fight for what you believe in, fight for your dreams,” said last year’s Canadian finalist Leylah Fernandez, who will face France’s Océane Dodin. in the first round. “She set a good path for all WTA players, even ATP players.”
While Williams’ accomplishments on the court have earned her a place in the history books, her candor off the court about her life has earned the American a place in the hearts of her fiercest opponents.
Williams won the 2017 Australian Open before confirming she was pregnant with daughter Olympia. She later wrote in a CNN column that she nearly died in childbirth, suffering complications that left her bedridden for weeks and led to multiple surgeries.
“She’s a peak physical athlete, and she’s got all these resources and all these things and something really scary health-wise has happened to her as well,” said 2017 US Open runner-up Madison Keys. , to Reuters at the WTA’s Her Health Advantage media event.
“(She’s) able to make people listen and say, ‘Listen, this is a problem and I’m not going to let you ignore this is a problem and we need to talk about it’.”
She has reached four Grand Slam finals since returning from maternity leave, but has not won another major tournament. Nonetheless, Williams has become a figure others hope to emulate.
“She’s the right example. Especially also with the way she deals with having business (interests) and playing at the same time or being a mother and playing at the same time,” Swiatek said.
“It’s great that we have someone like that in our sport who has paved the way and shown us that you can do anything.”