The US Open is Serena Williams’ final professional tournament. She played her first-round singles match last night… and she won! Considering Serena’s form coming into New York, the expectations were pretty low, and the US Open even planned out Serena’s big on-court retirement ceremony after the match, because (I believe) they thought she was going to lose. A word about the retirement ceremony: it was awful. They had a drunk-seeming Gayle King come out on court and yammer without a script. King interrupted Serena multiple times as Serena tried to describe her emotions for her final tournament. Plus, ESPN just did way too many video packages, although we got a “cameo” from Oprah via voiceover.
Anyway, the match was shockingly good. Once Serena warmed up a little, she was serving bombs and moving very well for a woman just weeks away from turning 41. Serena asked her friend Rennae Stubbs (the former pro from Australia) to coach her for this final tournament, and Rennae has been making Serena train and hit with actual players and not just a hitting partner. You can tell. Serena’s next opponent is the world #2, Anett Konteveit. Konteveit is good – and a very hard-hitter – but she tends to choke in Slams, on the biggest stages. I wonder if the New York crowd will play a role in that second round match.
Serena and Venus also took a wild card into the doubles draw, and it’s very likely that Serena’s last professional match will be on a doubles court with Vee. I’m choking up as I type that. Little Olympia was also at her mama’s match last night, wearing a matching crystal-encrusted dress. Olympia has beads in her hair, just like mama had beads in her hair when she won the US Open for the first time in 1999.
One thing I won’t miss at all is the nasty, condescending commentary from John McEnroe and Chris Evert during Serena’s matches. They were flat-out gleeful last night when they thought Serena was going to lose.
Photos courtesy of Avalon Red, Backgrid.
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- Serena Williams (USA),Image: 717561833, License: Rights-managed, Restrictions: , Model Release: no, Credit line: Antoine Couvercelle / Panoramic / Panoramic / Avalon
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- New York, NY – Serena Williams wins her first round match against D.Kovinic during the US Open 2022 tournament at the USTA’s Billie Jean King National Tennis Center in New York. This is the last U.S. Open Serena Williams will be playing in because she recently announced retiring from tennis. Pictured: Serena Williams BACKGRID USA 29 AUGUST 2022 BYLINE MUST READ: Best Image / BACKGRID USA: +1 310 798 9111 / usasales@backgrid.com UK: +44 208 344 2007 / uksales@backgrid.com *UK Clients – Pictures Containing Children Please Pixelate Face Prior To Publication*
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- New York, NY – Serena Williams wins her first round match against D.Kovinic during the US Open 2022 tournament at the USTA’s Billie Jean King National Tennis Center in New York. This is the last U.S. Open Serena Williams will be playing in because she recently announced retiring from tennis. Pictured: Serena Williams BACKGRID USA 29 AUGUST 2022 BYLINE MUST READ: Best Image / BACKGRID USA: +1 310 798 9111 / usasales@backgrid.com UK: +44 208 344 2007 / uksales@backgrid.com *UK Clients – Pictures Containing Children Please Pixelate Face Prior To Publication*
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- New York, NY – Serena Williams wins her first round match against D.Kovinic during the US Open 2022 tournament at the USTA’s Billie Jean King National Tennis Center in New York. This is the last U.S. Open Serena Williams will be playing in because she recently announced retiring from tennis. Pictured: Serena Williams BACKGRID USA 29 AUGUST 2022 BYLINE MUST READ: Best Image / BACKGRID USA: +1 310 798 9111 / usasales@backgrid.com UK: +44 208 344 2007 / uksales@backgrid.com *UK Clients – Pictures Containing Children Please Pixelate Face Prior To Publication*
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- New York, NY – Serena Williams wins her first round match against D.Kovinic during the US Open 2022 tournament at the USTA’s Billie Jean King National Tennis Center in New York. This is the last U.S. Open Serena Williams will be playing in because she recently announced retiring from tennis. Pictured: Serena Williams BACKGRID USA 29 AUGUST 2022 BYLINE MUST READ: Best Image / BACKGRID USA: +1 310 798 9111 / usasales@backgrid.com UK: +44 208 344 2007 / uksales@backgrid.com *UK Clients – Pictures Containing Children Please Pixelate Face Prior To Publication*
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- New York, NY – Serena Williams wins her first round match against D.Kovinic during the US Open 2022 tournament at the USTA’s Billie Jean King National Tennis Center in New York. This is the last U.S. Open Serena Williams will be playing in because she recently announced retiring from tennis. Pictured: Serena Williams BACKGRID USA 29 AUGUST 2022 BYLINE MUST READ: Best Image / BACKGRID USA: +1 310 798 9111 / usasales@backgrid.com UK: +44 208 344 2007 / uksales@backgrid.com *UK Clients – Pictures Containing Children Please Pixelate Face Prior To Publication*
Serena brought her game and such positive energy to the US Open last night.
The only good part of that post match thing was Serena herself. She’s just so sincere and genuine.
Gayle was not great. Although, to your point m, it felt like they thought she would lose, so I wonder if they had a whole other thing planned out and with the win they had to pivot, and that’s why it felt kinda unorganized.
Ok, who else is crying and has goosebumps after watching the 2nd YouTube video with Oprah narrating 🥹💖 Congratulations Serena 🤩
We were so emotional. One of the things that stood out in Oprah’s message was Serena “always loving us back” is so true, no matter what wrongs or indignities she endured.
so I’m not a tennis person. I mean I know the big names, I know the big tournaments, and I follow the headlines to see if one of those big names won the big tournament, lol, but the vast majority of my tennis knowledge comes from this site, haha.
So last night we’re watching the…….the match? the game? the competition, lol…..and I keep having to google how tennis is scored and what it all means, bc I’ve never really paid that much attention before, but damn it was fun to watch. Serena just seemed to be glowing.
I said to my husband – I feel like she’s just been waiting to win one more slam before she retires, and now that she’s announced her retirement (or something close to it), I wonder if she feels like the pressure is off? So now she’s just going to crush this tournament lol.
On your last point, I’ve been wondering that, too. It must be a huge relief to have made a decision and gotten out from under that tremendous pressure. It wouldn’t surprise me AT ALL if she went all the way on this one.
I just wish Meghan had been there!
Good thing Meghan wasn’t there. If Serena had lost it would have been Meghans’ fault, just like the time 2 or 3 years ago when Meghan flew in to see Serena play and lose. The tabloids lost no time in blaming her presence for the loss, even going so far as to claim she made a play for Serenas’ husband.
I know I’m clutching at straws but I’d love her to win either the Singles or Doubles crown with Venus as her final professional game.
I twirl on my haters-Beyonce’s Formation.
Yesterday’s game had so much emotion and I was so proud and impressed watching Serena stay in the zone the whole way through. Her joyous shout when she won was so cathartic! Her twirl at the end was a nice tie in to the commercials that played during the game that showed how she twirled at the end of games throughout her career.
Continue to twirl on your haters Serena!!
Chris Evert has always been a nasty and yes I’m going to say racist bitch against Serena and Venus. She would always say things about their opponents being so “feminine and graceful” and “such good representatives for tennis”. And don’t get me started on McEnroe. Grrr! Anyway, good luck to Serena! So has Venus announced she is retiring too? I know she cut back on her matches but I haven’t seen anything official from her like Serena.
I ignored Chris & John. As usual. Hate they were doing commentary. Gayle was too emotional. Too starstruck. It was fine. I’m glad they got this out of the way, though. Serena can just play. And play she did. The match was sooo good. Serena looked the best I’ve seen her in years.
Serena exhibited such strength, power, and athletic grace yesterday. She is a joy to watch.
Why oh why didn’t they have better commentators? Like you we ignored them and talked amongst ourselves.
So happy to watch Serena last night. I had to turn the commentary off at one point. Evert tried to backtrack at the end, but McEnroe couldn’t bring himself. He’s a jerk always.
Olympia is SUCH a cute, happy kid. (She’s totally her dad’s face on Serena’s body.) Her little braids and matching outfit were perfect.
Also, interesting that Serena ditched the French guy as her coach for this tournament. He seemed like a great fit pre-pregnancy, but I don’t think they clicked after the fact. I remember him being quite cold to her during the Being Serena documentary about breast feeding, her weight, her focus, etc.
Maybe it was because he’s French, but she clearly needed more than just tennis instruction in the last four years.
Were we watching the same match. I thought Gayle was fine, not drunk. Just casual, and a little emotional but nothing offensive. I didn’t notice anything vile about the commentating. I liked the match. Great for Serena to win. She hadn’t been playing well. So it was a fingers crossed situation. On to second round, go Serena!!!
Evert is a terrible person. The wife of my son’s coach was a tennis pro in Evert’s time and when I asked for the skinny about certain players, the coach said Evert was terrible, and Martina was fabulous in every possible way.
Serena’s response (when she was a young girl) when asked if she were a tennis player who she’d want to be like, “I want people to be like me,” is aspirational. I use it as my new daily mantra. And during her home tour on Arch Digest where she doesn’t fake humility (allllll the celebs do it’s so 🙄), she’s just like, ‘yep here are my trophies.’ She earned them, she’s proud of them, she is goals and I will always be inspired by and in awe of her. ❤️✨
I only cried four times last night, nbd!
Konteveit hasn’t been playing great tennis & will struggle with “the moment” of playing The Queen in her castle!
Sorry, (NOT!), but I just LOVE EVERYTHING about Serena. I wish she could go out on a win, but who cares, she is the GOAT and a fabulous person. Love, love, love her! OK, rant over!
yes Gayle King ! Lawdie I could not watch that train wreck of an interview. But here to is another US Open trophy Serena, be it singles or doubles. All the very best with your transition into another phase of what has been a very successful life so far