tennis will continue from Serena Williams. It must. Might not be easy, mind you, considering what kind transcendent figure that she was, on the court and down. But that’s what sport does, even when superstars leave. They all go away, of course, and the sport just keeps going.
The games will be played, new stars will emerge, the fans will keep watching. And of course Williams will be missing. By spectators. From executives from the tours, tournaments and TV. From other athletes.
And as the 2023 Australian Open begins on Monday (Sunday night EST), it will be the first Grand Slam tournament to be held since it went away Farewell at the US Open In September, just before her 41st birthday – the owner of 23 major singles championships said she prefers the term “develop” to “retire” – tennis will get a real taste of what a post-Serena world will be like on a major one stage looks like.
That is the case, although her impact will not wane, as US Open Tournament Director Stacey Allaster put it: “She leaves behind an indelible legacy of grace and courage that will inspire athletes, women and men, for many generations to come.” will.”
There will certainly be those keeping an eye on tangible data throughout the two weeks at Melbourne Park and throughout this and future seasons. Figures such as viewership and TV ratings are analyzed to gauge the impact of the departure of someone who has attained name-and-name celebrity status.
In a way, though, it’s all a bit beside the point.
“Her legacy is truly far-reaching, to the point where words can’t even describe it. She changed the sport so much. She introduced people to the sport who had never heard of tennis,” said Naomi Osaka, a 25-year-old Japanese woman who has won four Grand Slam titles but has not played a full match since August and at the Australian Open will sit out.”I honestly think she’s the greatest force in sport. That’s not intentionally trying to downsize (Roger) Federer or (Rafael) Nadal. I just think she’s the greatest thing ever will be in sport.”
For the past few decades, people may have worried about what would happen if Chris Evert and Martina Navratilova stopped playing. Or when Björn Borg, John McEnroe and Jimmy Connors moved on. Or Pete Sampras and Andre Agassi. Or Steffi Graf. Etc.
“It’s always a loss when great players leave. But I’ve seen that in six or seven generations,” said Billie Jean King, a two-time inductee into the International Tennis Hall of Fame who won 12 Grand Slam trophies in singles and another 27 in women’s or mixed doubles.
“I mean, I remember when Sampras left and when Martina and Chris left. I thought, ‘Oh, no! What will happen?’ Well, Sampras was there, and you know what? There’s Roger Federer. There’s Nadal. … It’s the same with women. We now have Iga (Swiatek) who has taken over,” King said. “Each generation is getting better and the depth of women’s tennis is better than it’s ever been and Serena is in a way responsible for that because each generation builds on the last generation.”
Shortly after Williams lost to another titan of tennis, Ajla Tomljanovic, in the third round at Flushing Meadows, 20-time major champion Federer, announced his resignation. Federer had not played an official match for more than a year due to a series of knee surgeries.
For Williams, there were moments when she retired from competing for tracks, either for health reasons or simply because she wanted to spend time with other interests, which she says contributed to her longevity.
WTA CEO and Chairman Steve Simon believes these gaps left room for new faces in women’s tennis, including current No. 1 Swiatek and American teenager Coco Gauff.
“Serena has been playing what I would call a tight schedule anyway for the past few years. So it’s clear we have a new group of stars coming in and they’re certainly establishing themselves and doing well,” Simon said. “But I can see that we continue to celebrate Serena – and I hope she comes back and plays for another five or ten years.”
Good luck with it.
But those she brought to tennis, whether players or fans, would endure long beyond that period.
“Serena got a lot of people interested in our sport. And now it’s up to the next generation to do that,” King said. “People — the media — go into it every time, ‘Oh, they’re leaving! Oh, what’s gonna happen?’ Someone always comes upstairs. The cream rises to the top.”
___
Follow Howard Fendrich on Twitter at https://twitter.com/HowardFendrich
___
AP Tennis: https://apnews.com/hub/tennis and https://twitter.com/AP_Sports
Copyright 2023 The Associated Press. All rights reserved. This material may not be published, broadcast, transcribed or redistributed without permission.
