The pursuit of bygone time: why Williams should not continue his career at any cost

The return of Serena Williams fans were waiting with great interest.

The last time she entered the court in singles was last year's Wimbledon, where in the first round she was forced to abandon the continuation of the fight with the Belarusian Aleksandra Sasnovich due to a leg injury.

Since then, she has continued to rest and recover, dropping lower and lower in the WTA rankings.

The American did not even show up for her beloved Australian Open, which she won seven times.

Just a week before Wimbledon, she played three matches in Eastbourne in a pair, where she was accompanied by Ons Jaber.

As a result, the duo won two victories, and then withdrew.

These results also gave cause for optimism.

It seemed that the eminent athlete had a chance to successfully start in London, given that she got a modest 115th racket of the planet Armoni Tan as her rival.

In addition, a large support group came to England with Williams, including older sister Venus, who specifically showed up in the mixed doubles to cheer Serena up.

Alas, Serena failed to win at least one meeting, although she fought the Frenchwoman and spent more than three hours on the court.

The performance of the American left an ambiguous impression.

On the positive side, she prevailed in the second game with a devastating score of 6:1, but in the end of the third game she did not convert the match point at the reception.

However, in general, the 40-year-old athlete looked hard.

The debut of the confrontation was especially difficult for her, when she could not adjust her pitch in any way and constantly disrupted the rallies.

And as soon as Tan added speed, the eminent rival had serious problems.

Let numerous fans of the 23-time owner of the TBSh complain that their favorite is far from ideal form, she herself admitted after the end of the match: today this is her maximum in terms of functional state.

“Physically, everything was fine.

Something has made itself felt in recent draws.

But I move well and hit.

In training with movement, everything is also fine.

Therefore, this did not come as a surprise to me ... True, I did not prepare for a three-hour match, and, probably, this was my mistake, ”the ex-first racket of the world shared her impressions.

But most importantly, even after another setback and a third relegation in her career in the first round of the major, she is still not going to end her career and intends to play at the home US Open.

“When you play at home, especially in New York, and at the US Open - the first TSH that I won - it's always something special ... There is definitely a serious motivation to improve and play here, ”she emphasized.

On the one hand, Williams' tenacity commands respect.

In her 20+ year career, she has won every possible title and broken countless records.

She has long been inscribed in golden letters in the history of tennis, but despite this she has not lost her desire to go out on the court.

The main motivation that encourages her to do this is the desire to win the 24th TBSH and repeat the achievement of Margaret Court.

Even age cannot stop a legend on the way to a dream.

And if she manages to complete this task, the world of sports will have an incredible story of overcoming.

According to the Olympic champion Ekaterina Makarova, an American, having a champion character, simply cannot leave the sport until she reaches her goal.

“Apparently, she wants to put an end to this story and does not allow herself to finish.

If an American ends her career now, she will have a feeling of understatement.

She is still playing, and the hunger for victories has not been satisfied, although she is 40 years old.

Williams has absolutely everything, but she still dreams of achieving her goal.

For her, this is like a fixed idea, ”Makarova explained in an interview with RT.

Moreover, Serena already has experience of a successful return.

In 2017, she gave birth to a daughter and was forced to miss more than a year.

But after that, the already middle-aged tennis player managed to win the tournament in Auckland and even climb into the top 10 of the world ranking.

She was also extremely close to conquering the TBSH.

In 2018 and 2019, she reached the finals of Wimbledon and the US Open, but invariably suffered defeats.

In 2020, the American reached the semi-finals of the US Open, and a year later she achieved similar success at the Australian Open.

It seemed that only a little was missing before the triumph.

On the other hand, the last time Williams won TBSH was before the baby was born.

In 2017, the American was not equal in Australia.

Just after this triumph, she took a forced pause.

In the future, it was not easy for her to resist young rivals in key stages.

Indicative in this regard, the finals of the decisive meetings turned out for her.

In all four, Serena failed to take a set.

And Simona Halep at Wimbledon 2019 gave her only four games at all - 2:6, 2:6.

“A person decides when to leave.

Serena has won so much that we simply have no right to criticize her.

But I think Williams is just far from perfect form.

Still, do not forget about age and other factors.

Whether the American is able to add depends on her.

But here the question is whether she is ready to work, as in her youth.

Now it is difficult for us to judge how she trains, ”Makarova expressed her opinion.

But the fact remains that the former power left the game of the age-old athlete, thanks to which she literally broke her competitors on the tour in the past years.

Serena, without a doubt, remains a unique athlete today, but the big question is whether she is ready to fight on equal terms with the strongest, because at the moment she can be called the only tennis player of such an age.

If we take the top 10, it does not include any girl over 30. The most experienced is Karolina Pliskova, who occupies the seventh line, who turned 30 in March.

And the leading 21-year-old Ida Shventek was born after Williams Sr. won the first TBSH.

It is almost impossible to imagine that Serena, who was defeated by the obscure Tan, will challenge the Pole, who has won 36 consecutive victories and recently won the Roland Garros.

According to Makarova, it will be difficult to do this even due to the big age difference.

“We can say that now in women's tennis there is an era of Schwöntek.

Let's see how long it will last.

But, of course, Serena will not be able to stop her.

I know from my own experience that it is difficult to resist a young opponent, even when you are 30. And Williams is already 40. Ida simply has a younger body and there is no list of injuries in her liabilities.

Due to her age, the Polish woman is fresh and hardy, ”the Olympic champion emphasized.

One gets the impression, entering the court at the age of 40, the ex-first racket of the planet is trying to catch up with the long-gone train.

She could end her career at the peak and leave beautifully, as did her long-term opponent Maria Sharapova, who decided to take such a step at 33 and is currently enjoying life without sports.

However, many women leave tennis much earlier, for example, the current Wimbledon winner Ashleigh Barty finished at 25.

Williams, even if you do not take into account the numerous victories, has long achieved everything.

There is no doubt that she has earned enough money to never think about prize money again and enjoy any other activity, whether it is a job as a coach or an expert on television.

Continuing the run for the 24th TBSH and another record, one of the best tennis players on the planet runs the risk of seriously ruining her reputation.

Fans are accustomed to the fact that she invariably dominates, and crashes in the first round and pity from the fans do not at all fit in with her big name.