Navratilova does not envisage a fairy tale ending for Williams at US Open
TORONTO: Serena Williams may have planned retirement her way but the American must be prepared to accept the goodbyes as well as the losses and exit the stage with grace, tennis great Martina Navratilova has said.
Williams signalled her intention to retire in a Vogue article in early August, saying she was ‘‘evolving away from tennis’’ but never confirming the US Open as her final event.
However, for Navratilova, like most of the tennis world, the message was clear — Flushing
Meadows, where Williams won the first of her 23 Grand Slam titles in 1999, will be the place she takes her final bow.
Navratilova said she completely understood the emotions Williams was wrestling with as she approached her final match, having experienced many of them herself.
But having made her decision, Williams must be prepared to live with it and say goodbye even in the face of defeat.
‘‘It’s hard,’’ Navratilova said. ‘‘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 tearjerker.’’
Williams’ short farewell tour, which has included two stops — in Toronto and Cincinnati — has been more bitter than sweet.
The 40yearold also said in the Vogue article that she did not like the word ‘‘retirement’’ and has been clearly frustrated by the inability to dictate the terms of her exit.
‘‘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,’’ Navratilova added.
Beaten in the last 16 at Roland Garros in June 2021, Williams has played sporadically and that has been reflected in her results, winning only one match since.
At the Cincinnati Open last week, her final tuneup ahead of the US Open, which starts on Tuesday, Williams was humbled 64, 60 by US Open champion Raducanu and marched off the court stonefaced, barely acknowledging an adoring crowd.
Navratilova believes Williams should brace herself for more disappointment because the US Open is unlikely to provide the fairy tale ending she would like for her career.
If Hollywood was writing the script, Williams would walk off into retirement in triumph by winning an elusive 24th Slam that would pull her level with Australian Margaret Court at the top of the all time list.
While the US Open can produce a good Cinderella story like last year, when Raducanu — an 18yearold qualifier ranked 150 in the world — hoisted the trophy, Navratilova does not see Williams turning back the clock and conjuring similar magic.
‘‘Emotions can only carry you so far. I don’t see a Cinderella happy ending where she wins the tournament,’’ Navratilova said.
‘‘The way she has looked it doesn’t look like she is going to make a miraculous comeback and win the tournament.
‘‘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.’’ — Reuters