Tennis legend Martina Navratilova has suggested that Serena Williams may have planned to retire but must be prepared to accept goodbyes as well as defeats and a proud end to her career.
Serena announced her intention to retire in an article for Vogue at the beginning of this month, saying that she was “evolving away from tennis”, but she has never confirmed that the US Open will be her last.
For Navratilova, like most of the tennis world, the message was clear: Flushing Meadows, where Serena won her first of 23 Grand Slam titles in 1999, will be the place to testify to the end.
In the captain, Navratilova confirmed that she fully understands the feelings that Serena was wrestling with, and she is approaching her last match following witnessing many of them herself.
But now that she’s made up her mind, Serena must be ready to live with him and bid him farewell, even in the face of defeat.
“It’s difficult,” Navratilova explained. When I retired in 1993, I told the press that this year was my last, and it was a mistake because every tournament has been a tendency to cry.”
