NEW YORK –
They came from far and wide to the US Open on Monday for Serena – no last name required, fitting for someone who belongs as much to an icon as a superstar athlete – to see her play or when they’re not that lucky , having the right ticket, hoping for an autograph, a glimpse of them practicing, or just a chance to breathe the same Flushing Meadows air as them.
As thousands of hours queued before their game to enter the tournament grounds, then headed to smaller pitches to play earlier, or simply lounged, waited and waded in the palpable excitement, no one could know for sure how many more opportunities there were will for any of this. People were there to watch or just contemplate as Serena Williams swings her racquet the way she has to 23 Grand Slam singles titles, more than any other person in tennis’s professional era, which began in 1968 because she has said she is ready to resume from her active days.
And they were there to honor her and show her appreciation for what she’s accomplished on and off the pitch.
At around 6:15 p.m. Williams made the short walk to the practice grounds adjacent to Arthur Ashe Stadium for a half-hour warm-up. People who filled the bleachers above the practice ground greeted them with shouts of “Serenaaaaa!” on the way in and yelled again on the way out, receiving a wave of her racquet in confirmation before Williams stalked back into the stadium, lips pursed.
The first-round match against Danka Kovinic started at 7:30 p.m., and while Williams struggled with her signature serve early on, losing three games in a row to 3-2, she then rolled through the rest of the opening set taking it with a 6-3 -Result.
She clenched her fists and shouted, “Come on!” and the packed house of around 23,000 responded with a rousing standing ovation, the kind of celebration that could mark the end of a game. However, there was still work to be done for Williams.
Still, it was as clear as ever that she meant a lot to a lot of people. As a tennis player. As a women. As an African American. As a mother. As a business woman.
“When she started, female athletes weren’t recognized. She’s done so much,” said Quintella Thorn, a 68-year-old from Columbus, Georgia, who was making her eighth trip to the US Open. “And now she is…”
“Evolving,” chimed in Thorn’s friend Cora Monroe, 72, of Shreveport, Louisiana, who she has revealed is Richard Williams – the father of Serena and sister Venus and the central character in the Oscar-winning film King Richard . — is also from.
That word “evolve” is what Williams said she preferred to the more commonly used “retirement” when writing in an essay for Vogue published about three weeks ago that she was ready to focus on having a second child (her daughter, Olympia, turns 5 on Thursday) and her venture capital firm.
While Williams didn’t spell out that the US Open would definitely be her last tournament – she’s also registered in doubles with Venus, the 42-year-old and a seven-time major singles champion herself – she made it sound like it was be.
“When Serena announced she was playing the US Open, we sold out in a nanosecond for Monday night and Tuesday night. You can see on the secondary market that the starting price is $230. I saw $5,800 for a courtside seat that evening. Look, this is a historic moment for the Williams family, for Serena and for our sport,” said Stacey Allaster, Tournament Director of the American Grand Slam event. “It’s so difficult to really capture what Serena and Venus have done for tennis have done. They’ve transformed our sport. They’ve made us more inclusive. And they’ve gone beyond sport.”
This is why Monday was more important than the usual Day 1 at a major tournament. And why the day’s program made no mention of any other of the dozens of athletes in action, instead showing a montage of six images of Williams holding her six US Open trophies above the Title held: “Serena Williams, a legacy of greatness.” And why games with other elite players like former US Open champions Bianca Andreescu, Andy Murray, Daniil Medvedev and Dominic Thiem or French Open finalist Coco Gauff, an 18 -year-old American, were less important.
Kriti Kamath, a 9-year-old from Boston, was carrying an oversized yellow tennis ball hoping to garner some signatures — maybe even after William’s scheduled pre-game batting session the night before her match — as she walked outside Ashe with her mom, Neethor Shenoy .
Shenoy has shared Williams’ importance with her daughter, who plays tennis.
“She is very motivated. She is very ambitious. And she’s an inspiration to all women, especially all women of color,” Shenoy said. “She gives kids a positive path to follow.”
Mom said she’s been traveling from Boston to New York for the US Open since 2004; This was Kriti’s first day of competition but they were there earlier in the week for “Fan Week”. The US Tennis Association said more than 90,000 free online passes were downloaded in the run-up to the main draw, an increase of more than 35% from the last tournament before the pandemic in 2019.
The USTA said on the day Williams announced its intentions, it sold more than 16,500 tickets for the tournament, more than the previous seven days combined. That included more than 4,600 on Monday night alone, making it a sell-out.
Monroe and Thorn said they have tickets for the day and night sessions, which are sold separately, for each of the first three days of the tournament.
On Monday, they both wore blue T-shirts: Monroe’s had “Serena” emblazoned four times in different shades of purple; Thorn’s wore a black and white photo of Williams next to the words “Greatest Female Athlete” – with “Female” crossed out.
Monroe said she admired the Williams sisters “just for how they carried themselves; they are an inspiration” and that she and Thorn can’t wait to be at the stadium for Williams vs. Kovinic.
“Serena will win tonight,” said Monroe. “So we’ll see her on Wednesday when she plays again.”