Sep 19 2022
A Career to Remember: Draft
On August 9, an article appeared in Vogue in which tennis legend Serena Williams announced herself that she would be retiring after the US open.
After 27 years of tennis dominance, winning 73 career singles titles, 23 career doubles titles and over $94 million in career winnings, she is ready to ‘evolve’ as she explained.
“I have never liked the word ‘retirement,'” Williams wrote. “Maybe the best word to describe what I’m up to is ‘evolution.’ I’m here to tell you that I’m evolving away from tennis, toward other things that are important to me.”
In her article Serena talks about her future plans. In the announcement she wrote that she has to focus more on being a mom, while also saying that her 5-year old daughter wants to become an older sister. Business wise, Williams will be looking to expand her invest firm called Serena Ventures.
‘Serena Williams was a game-changer’, as described by New York Times writer W. Lee. When she played in her first U.S. Open in 1998, it was common for mostly white faces to watch white athletes. Since then the game completely changed, with big thanks to the Williams sisters who became the faces of the new tennis era.
At the age of 16, Serena’s title tally already began, winning the mixed-doubles at her first ever U.S Open. Her partner that tournament, Max Mirnyi, was directly impressed, saying that even at that age her talent and athleticism was clearly visible. However the single’s title was her true goal, which directly got achieved the following year, winning the 1999 title.
A grand slam final in 2001 was the first time spectators got to see a Williams sister match up on the big stage. Whereas this final got won by the older sister Venus, Serena got three rematches the following year, winning all three of them.
While some siblings would be jealous on on another, Venus and Serena Williams always had each others back according to New York Times writer Kurt Streeter.
“The Williams sisters. They are the yin to the other’s yang.”
The sisters had a long time rivalry, coming across one another quite often, mostly in the later games of the tournaments. They had the habit of playing so poorly against each other that conspiracies arose about the fact that their father chose the winner before hand. This conspiracy reached its peak when Venus pullen out of a semi-final right before the start of the match.
The sisters played many double matches together, winning 14 Grand Slams together. The Williams sisters have decided to team-up in the Women’s doubles this U.S. Open which could quite well be their last time.
Sources:
https://www.cnbc.com/2022/08/09/serena-williams-announces-retirement-from-tennis.html
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