Former world No.1 Martina Navratilova says Serena Williams must prepare herself for the likelihood that her record-breaking career will not have a fairytale ending.
Williams recently announced that she is starting to ‘evolve’ away from tennis in an article written for Vogue Magazine. At the time she didn’t specify which event will be the last she will play but there is mass speculation that it will be the US Open which starts on Monday. The 40-year-old has won 73 Tour titles during her career, including 23 Grand Slam’s.
However, in recent months Williams has only played occasionally on the Tour. This year she has played singles at two tournaments and scored one victory. Defeating Spain’s Nuria Parrizas-Diaz in the first round of the Canadian Open. Her last win at a major was at the 2021 French Open where she reached the fourth round.
During an interview with Reuters news agency, Navratilova said the tennis star needs to control her emotions on the court as she continues her farewell tour.
“It’s hard. When I retired in ’93 I told the press it was my last year which was a mistake because every single tournament was a freaking tear-jerker,” said Navratilova.
“Serena did it her way, which was announcing in a very glamorous way on Vogue magazine, but then she is not accepting the losses, she is not accepting what comes with it which is saying goodbye,” she added.
As for Williams’ chances of a fairytale ending in New York, Navratilova believes they are low. Should Williams win the US Open she would finally tie Margaret Court for most major titles won in history. However, the last time she played in a Grand Slam final was at the 2019 US Open where she lost in straight sets to Bianca Andreescu.
“Emotions can only carry you so far, I don’t see a Cinderella happy ending where she wins the tournament. The way she has looked it doesn’t look like she is going to make a miraculous comeback and win the tournament,” Navratilova commented.
“And with the stress of knowing this is likely your last tournament it doesn’t help.
“But if anyone can overcome it would be Serena.”
Williams will be unseeded in this year’s US Open and has entered the draw with the use of her protected ranking. She will find out who her first round opponent will be on Thursday when the draw takes place. It will be her 21st appearance at the tournament in her professional career.
