Prepare to accept goodbyes, losses
No fairytale ending for Serena, says great Navratilova Carolina Marin on badminton comeback trail
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 told Reuters.
Williams signaled 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 approaches 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,” said Navratilova, who is working with Sense Arena on a virtual reality tennis training product that provides players with enhanced visualization.
“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.”
Williams’ short farewell tour, which has included two stops – in Toronto and Cincinnati – has been more bitter than sweet.
The 40-year-old Williams 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,” added Navratilova.
One victory
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 tune-up ahead of the US Open which starts on Monday, Williams was humbled 6-4 6-0 by US Open champion Raducanu and marched off the court stone-faced, barely acknowledging an adoring crowd.
Navratilova believes Williams should brace herself for more disappointment because the US Open is unlikely to provide the fairytale ending she would like for her career.
If Hollywood were 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 in 2021 when Raducanu, an 18-year-old qualifier ranked 150 in the world, hoisted the trophy but 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,” said Navratilova.
“The way she has looked it doesn’t look like she is going to make a miraculous comeback and win the tournament.,” she said.
“And with the stress of knowing this is likely your last tournament it doesn’t help,” said Navratilova.
“But if anyone can overcome it would be Serena.”
A horror injury wrecked Carolina Marin’s Tokyo Olympics dream but now the Spanish badminton star is aiming for a record fourth world title and gold at the 2024 Paris Games.
Marin was the hot favorite for the Tokyo title in 2021 until a knee injury in May forced her to miss not just the Olympics but also the world championships in her hometown of Huelva five months later.
The 29-year-old returned to action in May and she is making up for lost time at the world championships in Tokyo this week.
Marin staved off four match points to book her place in the quarter-finals with a 16-21, 21-15, 22-20 win over China’s He Bingjiao on Thursday, letting out a wild scream of celebration after sealing the deal.
She insisted a record fourth world title was not at the forefront of her mind but said her win over He gave her the “self-confidence to face other top players.”
“I don’t want to think about the title every day because this is something that is going to happen only on Sunday when you win the last game,” she told AFP after setting up a blockbuster quarter-final against top seed Akane Yamaguchi of Japan.
“I want to push myself as far as I can. I want to give my best in every game that I have to play here and of course I’m looking forward to playing another quarter-final.”
The anterior cruciate ligament knee tear Marin suffered in 2021 came just two years after she ruptured the ACL in her other knee – an injury that kept her out for eight months of 2019.
She said her two injuries were “really tough for the body but mainly mentally” adding that the thought of winning Olympic gold in 2024 had kept her going.
“When I broke my second knee, something that motivated me was that I couldn’t win in Tokyo so I wanted to win the gold medal in Paris,” said Marin, the 2016 Olympic champion.
“I don’t want to put pressure on myself to keep this kind of goal in my mind. This is something that is going to happen in two years but it’s something that sometimes motivates yourself.”
Marin is conscious that, at 29, she is “not as young as the other players” and is wary of overloading her schedule.
“Now I am in the moment to really care about my body,” she said.
“We need to keep focusing on what tournaments I should play because to have two serious injuries is really easy to say but really hard to feel,” said Marin.
Marin’s resolve will be tested fully when she faces world number one and home crowd favorite Yamaguchi for a place in the last four.