NEW YORK –
Serena Williams has reached her break point – catching up on her calm after her last match at the US Open.
Williams, 40, posted a photo of herself under a “Vaiana” blanket on Instagram Monday and appeared to be asleep while using a stuffed animal as a pillow. 5-year-old Olympia’s mother Williams wrote: “How was your weekend? That was mine.”
Her career seemingly ended when she lost at her last US Open last week. Williams won 23 Grand Slam titles and was acclaimed by celebrities, peers and fans during her games at Flushing Meadows. The tributes from tennis players to the NFL continued into Monday.
American rising star Frances Tiafoe recalled the inspiration he got from watching Serena and her older sister Venus after his upset victory over Rafael Nadal on Tuesday.
“Back then, when I was watching Serena and Venus at the Grand Slam final, I thought how cool would it be to play Wimbledon, play Arthur Ashe and stuff like that,” Tiafoe said after his big win at Ashe.
Tampa Bay quarterback Tom Brady — like Williams, another age-defying championship athlete — praised Williams on his weekly podcast Monday.
“What a pleasure to watch her play,” Brady said. “She hasn’t played for a while and I think she’s found that it’s a lot of fun to play. And I think sometimes when you’re in the middle of it, you take it for granted to a certain extent, like, ‘Oh, it’ll be there.’ And then it’s not there for a year and you’re like, “God, I really love it. I really want to play.” And then you go out and play and you enjoy it.”
Williams turns 41 on September 26 and says she wants to expand her family and pursue business interests.