San Francisco Chronicle - (Sunday)
Serena at ease: ‘I’m back again’
S.F. resident Williams to play in San Jose
Serena Williams felt an odd sense of satisfaction upon leaving Wimbledon, the kind not generally associated with losing a major final. As she returned to her San Francisco home, she knew the experience had only enriched her remarkable life — and her reputation.
In the words of Annabel Croft, the British former No. 1 player and now a broadcaster in London, “The whole tennis world is in absolute awe of her.”
For Williams, who plays her first match of the Mubadala Silicon Valley Classic on Tuesday night on the campus of San Jose State, Wimbledon was going to be an exercise in uncertainty. She had given
birth to daughter Olympia just 10 months prior, there had been life-threatening complications, and the sport’s greatest female player was ranked 181st in the world. Only through the sensible stance of Wimbledon, ignoring protocol to acknowledge the scope of her career, was she granted a 25th seed.
She got a few breaks along the way. By Monday evening of the second week, there wasn’t a single top-10 seed left. It was a reasonable assumption that Serena, at the age of 36 and not quite in vintage form, could win her 24th major championship and tie Margaret Court for the all-time record.
Safely into the final, she felt completely at ease with the occasion. As relayed by Inside Tennis magazine, Serena told a friend that morning, “This is cool. I’m back again. Olympia helps me get ready. She sits in
a sink and hands me my makeup brush.”
The outcome was hardly what she envisioned. Williams ran into a composed, magnificently prepared opponent in Angelique Kerber and lost 6-3, 6-3. But she had her health. She had a beautiful baby daughter and a beaming husband, Alexis Ohanian. As she said afterward, “It was such an amazing tournament for me. I was really happy to get this far. For all the moms out there, I was playing for you today, and I tried. It’s obviously disappointing, but I can’t be disappointed.”
The takeaway: She will cherish motherhood above all. She will also keep playing tennis. And she will win that 24th major, and probably another or two, because she is Serena. “I don’t think I actually ever lost that competitive side,” she said. “In fact, I feel like it’s stronger because I’ve been through so much. I put so much on the back burner, I feel like I’m even more competitive.”
All of which makes the San Jose tournament — formerly the Stanford-based Bank of the West Classic — an intriguing stop on the women’s tour. Venus Williams, Victoria Azarenka and Madison Keys are part of the field, along with Garbiñe Muguruza, the former world No. 1 who defeated Serena in the 2016 French Open final. And Serena has drawn a tough first-round opponent in England’s Johanna Konta, who defeated Venus in the final of the 2016 Bank of the West event.
It still seems crazy to picture Serena Williams as a San Franciscan, although come to think of it, why not? That has been home base for Ohanian, who founded Reddit, the social news-and-discussion website that has been described as “the front page of the internet.” As Serena told Vogue magazine, “There’s something really attractive about the idea of moving to San Francisco and
just being a mom.”
And it’s a whole new world for Ohanian, who left Reddit earlier this year to devote full commitment to Initialized Capital, the venture capital firm he founded. Speaking on the Commonwealth Club’s In Forum podcast on Wednesday, Ohanian was asked about parenting and replied, “I’m so lucky I’ve got an awesome partner in this. It’s made me realize that my work is not the most important thing. And I’ve got a partner who most people actually like a lot more than me (laughter). I’m sure most of you came here thinking, ‘I wonder if she’s gonna show up.’ ”
Asked about being married to such an ambitious partner, Ohanian said, “Even when it’s hard, hitting your lows, you take a second and think, ‘I can pull this together.’ Because look at what she’s doing, and how she’s handling it. I think no matter who your partner is, in childbirth you’re automatically in awe. And when your partner is Serena Williams, it’s easy to suck it up and do what needs to be done.”
One evening in February, Serena was walking her dog when she noticed two men playing tennis at Dolores Park. On a whim — “just to see their reaction” — she asked if she could hit a few balls with them. No matter that she was in street clothes and wearing boots, or the fact that the men were so blown away, they could barely speak. They got to hit a few balls with Serena.
“Still undefeated,” Serena said on her Snapchat video of the scene. “So the moral of the story is, you never know when I’m going to come into a tennis court near you.”
In the coming week, with the women’s tour making its annual Bay Area stop, San Jose will be near enough.