There are few things in this world that Serena Williams has enjoyed more than returning throughout her career. She underwent knee surgery in 2003, but within a year of her return she became a Grand Slam champion again. After arriving at the Australian Open in 2007 and finishing in 81st place, she left with the title. She nearly died of a pulmonary embolism in 2011, but worked hard to enjoy her oldest years. In 2017, she survived a life-threatening birth, but recovered to reach four Grand Slam finals.
In her 27 years as a professional tennis player, Williams has seen generations rise and fall, with most of her contemporaries retiring over a decade. But the time is coming for all of us and on a hot evening on the Central Court she showed the challenge in front of her in the last chapter of her career.
After tearing her hamstring when she fell on Central Court last year and then not playing another singles match for 52 weeks, she made her single return to the same spot on Tuesday. Rusty and devoid of confidence against a player who gave her nothing, Williams recovered from a set and struggled with his soul before falling in the first round with 7-5, 1-6, 7-6 (7) by Frenchman Harmony. Tan.
In terms of ranking and experience, the world number 115 Tan was one of the best draws that Williams could get. But Tan is a complex player with a wide range of instruments from a variety of punches, strokes and turns, and while Williams was trying to find his range after a one-year hiatus, she raised her level and offered no rhythm at all.
“When I saw the tow, I was really scared,” Tan said afterward. “Since this is Serena Williams, she is a legend. I was like, oh, my God. How can I play? If I can win one or two games, that’s really good for me. ‘
Despite the difficulties in the beginning, Williams led 4-2, 40-15 in the first set and she seemed to take control. Instead, Tan continued to work with Williams with drop shots and cutting off both wings, forcing her to move forward and bend her knees, stopping her rhythm. She picked up the set by sliding Williams forward and shooting with a forehand, the winner of the pass.
As Williams boiled, the roof was closed over Central Court. She made a 2-0 breakout after a seemingly endless 20-minute game on Tan’s serve, which required seven break points and was comically sealed with a high, jammed backhand that caused a false forehand from Tan.
With the break in place, Williams seemed to settle. Her serving started firing as she dictated from the baseline instead of chasing Tan’s piece. But she first lost 3-1, then served for the match and Tan fought back with a backhand shot.
As Tan took a 6-5 lead with a winning shot, Williams served to stay in the match and fought hard, bravely saving a matchball with a winner from a forehand volley while the crowd on the center court roared as loudly as ever for a seven-time champion. But with so few games behind him, Williams swayed in the tense moments while Tan remained firm in the decisive tie-break.
Harmony Tan celebrates after his victory. Photo: Tom Jenkins / Guardian
“I gave everything I could today,” Williams said. “Maybe tomorrow I could give more. Maybe a week ago I could have given more. But today I could do. At some point you should be able to handle this. And that’s all I can do. “
Williams was asked if she would return to Wimbledon, a question she had no answer to. “This is a question I can’t answer,” she said. “Like, I don’t know. Who knows? Who knows where I’ll jump. “
Despite her uncertainty, Williams said the heavy defeat in her first game back motivated her to return to the training ground and improve for the upcoming US Open. “It definitely makes me want to be on the training courts because when you’re playing it’s not bad and you’re so close. Like I said, any other opponent would probably be better suited to my game. So, yes, I have a feeling it’s actually something like, “Okay, Serena, you can do this if you want.”
At her press conferences last week, she insisted she had no idea exactly how long she intended to continue.
She now runs a time-consuming venture capital company, Serena Ventures. She said she released her message outside the office for a few weeks, but will return later.
Serena Williams responded from one set to make an exciting tiebreak in the third. Photo: Tom Jenkins / Guardian
She guarantees that she will be stimulated when her career is finally over. But there is nothing like going out on the central court and finding a way and the will to get the best tennis in you and so she keeps coming back.
The question after her loss is what exactly she wants and whether this new return will be a farewell to Wimbledon.
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