Serena, fellow greats limping toward exits
Serena Williams’ announcement of her withdrawal from the U.S. Open included 78 words and a heart emoji.
It was cool and clinical, referring to her medical team’s advice to rest a torn hamstring to avoid further injury and a nod to New York, “one of the most exciting cities in the world and one of my favorite places to play,” even if it has also been the site of her most disturbing meltdowns.
Williams became the third aging tennis giant in 10 days to withdraw from the U.S. Open, the year’s final Grand Slam, following Roger Federer and Rafael Nadal’s revelations about their own injury struggles. It was also the latest reminder of how messy and cruel the end of even the most storied tennis careers usually are, especially for those who stay even slightly past their sell-by dates.
Nadal, 35, might have some good miles left in his bones, despite their occasional fragility, but Federer turned 40 this month, and Williams turns 40 in September.
“Forty in tennis is like 65 in another job,” said John McEnroe, the seven-time Grand Slam singles champion and ESPN commentator.
There are many reasons tennis does not lend itself to perfect endings. The modern game imposes immense physical demands and a relentless schedule. Its ranking system rewards consistent, elite play and punishes those whose aging bodies allow them only to dabble with lower seeds and more difficult early-round matches.
The result is a stark choice for even the best tennis players: Go out on top while most likely leaving some titles on the table or meander through a frustrating descent into being OK at best.
“Without question, our sport does go through the passing of the baton,” U.S. Open tournament director Stacey Allaster said after Serena’s announcement.
Martina Navratilova was still winning doubles titles at 49, but few top singles players have followed her lead.
Steffi Graf won the 1999 French Open for her 22nd Grand Slam title and made the Wimbledon final a month later in July. That August, she suffered a pulled hamstring and decided to retire. She said she had lost the motivation to do what was necessary to continue to play at the top of the sport. She was just 30.
Paul Annacone, who coached Pete Sampras, the winner of 14 Grand Slam singles titles, said Sampras spent months following his victory at the 2002 U.S. Open figuring out whether he wanted to keep playing. He practiced, he stayed in shape, and he pondered what he still wanted from the game.
Then one day in the spring of 2003, Sampras called Annacone and told him he had figured it out. He said he was done, that he had nothing left to prove to himself. Sampras was just 32, and Annacone is certain he had more big titles left in his racket.
“I don’t know how you can win and never play another match, but Pete had such clarity,” Annacone said.
At the moment, Federer’s final act may be at Wimbledon, with an injured knee and losing a set 6-0 on Centre Court to Hubert Hurkacz of Poland in the quarterfinal.
Nadal won his 13th French Open and 20th Grand Slam singles title last October, but he fell in four sets in June to Novak Djokovic at Roland Garros in the semifinals of the French Open, where he has been nearly unbeatable.
He skipped Wimbledon and the Olympics, and he was last seen losing to Lloyd Harris of South Africa in the second round of the Citi Open in Washington, D.C. His comeback will hinge on solving a congenital foot problem.
Because the right hamstring she tore at Wimbledon in late June is not sufficiently healed, Williams again will not be able to pursue what would be a 24th Grand Slam singles title, tying Margaret Court for the most in the sport’s history. (As it is, Williams holds the Open era mark of 23, because more than half of Court’s total came before professionals were permitted to enter major tournaments in 1968).
In an interview Wednesday, Patrick Mouratoglou, Williams’ coach, said she spent weeks resting and receiving treatments to try to nurse her leg back into shape while trying to maintain her fitness and form.
Since returning from maternity leave in 2018, Serena has reached four Slam finals, going 0-4. Her 2017 Australian Open title while pregnant at age 35 makes her the oldest woman to win a major singles championship in the Open era. Ken Rosewall set the men’s mark of 37 at the 1972 Australian Open.
Federer, the first man to reach 20 Slam trophies, is done for 2021 because he needs a third operation on a right knee that was repaired twice last year. Nadal is also done for the season, troubled by recurring left foot pain.
What no one knows for sure, right now, is when — or, truthfully, if — each will return.
Now, though, there will be even more attention on Djokovic as he tries to complete the first calendar-year Grand Slam by a man since Laver in 1969 and break his tie with Federer and Nadal by claiming a 21st major title.
And extra attention on reigning U.S. Open champion Naomi Osaka as she returns to Grand Slam action for the first time since pulling out of the French Open, then Wimbledon, for a mental health break.
“We are disappointed for our fans. How could they not be disappointed? They are just such exceptional champions,” Allaster said about Williams, Federer and Nadal. “At the same time, the show goes on.”