Los Angeles (AFP)

In 1994, while playing in Oakland (California) its first professional tournament at the age of 14, the Rolling Stones gave a concert in a nearby stadium. Venus Williams, who turns 40 on Wednesday, continues, like rock legends, to hold on to his passion.

On October 31, it was with a cover of the Crickets, "Not fade away", that Mick Jagger, Keith Richards & co started their set, while Venus took one at the world number 2 Arantxa Sanchez, creating a sensation of short-lived, the Spaniard having then imposed herself in this second round match.

"Not fade away", not to disappear, was played wisely by the Stones then in their fifties and who are still active 26 years later. A leitmotif which Venus Williams endorses today, despite an inevitable decline, prospects for titles that are becoming scarce and an era that the coronavirus makes even more complicated.

Thus, the former world number 1 refuses to draw a line under a career filled with seven crowns in singles in Grand Slam, four Olympic gold medals for a total of almost fifty titles in singles. And this, although the 49th and last date of 2016 in Taiwan.

"You always have to have dreams, so I continue to have them," said Williams at the Tennis Majors site in early June, referring in particular to the challenges that Roland Garros and the Australian Open represent, the two Great Slams that are missing from his record.

- "Win in Paris" -

"I would like to win in Paris. I was close by (finalist in 2002, editor's note). The same goes for Melbourne: I was unlucky, I just missed out on winning" in the final in 2003 and 2017, she recalled.

His dreams of Major, however, seem unattainable. Her last victory was twelve years ago, her fifth at Wimbledon, and she agrees that time is playing against her. "My career is closer to the end than to the beginning. We'll see how I feel. I still like to win as much, but when it's over, it really will be."

However, finishing tennis will sound like a defeat for Venus Williams, whose notable fighting spirit on a court stems from the precept that "the ball never came out", hammered by his father Richard Williams to his sister Serena and her in their youth.

Although advances in science in modern sport increasingly push the limits of longevity, few are likely to remain at the top level over four decades, like Venus Williams.

The day will come, however, when she hangs up the racket and world tennis will salute the retirement of one of the best players in history.

- "Williams rivalry" -

He will remember the thunderous arrival on the circuit of this teenager from the disadvantaged district of Compton in Los Angeles, where the balls that count are not those of tennis.

From her intense rivalry in the 2000s with her younger sister Serena, who eventually fizzled out, the latter having won 23 Grand Slam titles.

He will also remember his successful return after suffering in 2011 from Sjögren's syndrome, an autoimmune disease causing joint pain and great fatigue.

These last years have seen the emergence of a young generation of black players, such as Sloane Stephens, Madison Keys and Coco Gauff. As such, former player Pam Shriver believes that Williams helped these women "to convince themselves that there is a way to the heights of tennis".

In recent weeks, Venus Williams has been involved in the fight against racial injustice that has battered the pavement across the country, following the death of George Floyd during his arrest in Minneapolis on May 25.

"Racism still spills over into America," she wrote on Instagram. Talking about racism in the past was unpopular. It has been ignored. Until you walk in it, as an African American , you will be unable to understand the challenges you face in this country, in this world. "

Another game, even more important to win.

© 2020 AFP