Serena

Last night, an attendance record for the U.S. Open was set for an evening match at Arthur Ashe Stadium. 29,402 fans packed the stands in Queens, NY to watch the GOAT, Serena Williams, play one last time.

Serena fed off the crowd’s energy and beat Danka Kovinic in straight sets, 6-3, 6-3 to advance to round two. The match was a battle and full of emotions. Her signature shouting “Come On” and the fist pump kept her fearless. Then, midway through the second set, Kovinic was serving to go up two games. That’s when Serena hit an unsteady backhand that looked like it was out, but it grazed the sideline. Kovinic was rattled and double-faulted the game away. The match ended with a standing ovation to the famous Serena twirl.

The Queen of Queens

Serena is more than just a girl from Compton who has become a cultural icon for women athletes all over the world. (If you haven’t watched the movie King Richard, watch it! Without her father and sister, Venus, there is no Serena.)

She was 17 years old when she won her first U.S. Open in 1999. Now, at age 40 she still plays with commanding power and a relentless hustle that has defined her career. Over her storied career, Serena has won 856 matches, 73 Career Titles, 23 Single Grand Slam Titles, 16 Double Grand Slam Titles, 23 World Tennis Association 1000 Titles, 4 Olympic Gold medals, and
5 Time Year End World #1 ranking. Serena is the only player in tennis history, male or female, to have a Career Golden Slam in singles AND in doubles. (Winning all four Grand Slams and an Olympic gold in your career.)

No tennis player, male or female has won more major championships in the Open Era than Serena Williams. She also won the 2017 Australian Open while eight weeks pregnant with her daughter, Olympia who turns 5 years old on Thursday. With the most U.S. Open singles championships of the Open era, Serena is Queen of Queens.

Dressed to Impress

Decked in diamonds for her entrance and she walked on to the court to Kanye West’s “Diamonds From Sierra Leone” just like a queen should. Serena wore a figure skating-inspired Nike dress during round one of the U.S. Open that she designed. It was made of six layers to honor her six past titles at Flushing. She wore her NikeCourt Flare 2 shoes that include a diamond-encrusted Swoosh and solid gold lace deubrés with 400 hand-set diamonds. And of course, Serena and her daughter, Olympia had matching outfits. Olympia rocked the same white beaded braids hairstyle Serena wore when she won the 1999 U.S. Open.

https://twitter.com/jelevision/status/1564427085359321091?s=21&t=XlxePTDoEbQPn1lm8HCkrw

A List

Tennis royalty showed up last night to watch and cheer on Serena. Billie Jean King, Coco Gauff, Rafael Nadal, Naomi Osaka, Venus Williams, Andy Roddick, James Blake and Bethanie Marrek-Sands all know the impact Serena has had on the game of tennis. Off the court I spotted Bill Clinton, Dr. Ruth, Anna Wintour, Spike Lee, Gayle King, Queen Latifah, Hugh Jackman, Rebel Wilson, Katie Couric, Anthony Anderson, Bella Hadid, Lindsey Vonn, Francisco Lindor, Mike Tyson, Vera Wang, and Steve Nash. I’m sure there were many more. Those were just some of the famous faces in the crowd that were there to tip their hat and show Serena some Love.

This was Serena’s 5th match in 2022 and by far her best. She has to win to keep advancing. And that means ticket prices will continue to increase as long as Serena is still playing. Monday night’s tickets saw over 300% price increase to watch Serena in round one. However, watching Serena win one last time is priceless.

Serena didn’t say she was “retiring”, but strongly hinted this will be her final grand slam of her decorated career. Her future is “evolving” as she begins a new chapter as a business woman and growing her family. But, before shifting her focus on family off the court, Serena will play with older sister Venus in doubles at the U.S. Open later this week. Their last win together was in 2016 and the Sisters are 14-0 in Grand Slam Doubles.

Serena will face the #2 seed, Anett Kontaveit, Wednesday at 12:30 on ESPN.

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