We know the greatness of Serena Williams and that’s nothing new.
Serena won the Australian Open last year, defeating her sister Venus 6-4, 6-4, to take title, which wasn’t much of a surprise. But what WAS a surprise was that Williams later revealed that she was more than eight weeks pregnant when she won the Australian Open, news which set the sports world on fire and sent Serena fans into an absolute frenzy.
Serena then got married and gave birth to her daughter, Alexis Olympia, this past September. Fans were excited about her new role as a mother, but they couldn’t wait to see her back on the court, and the Australian Open, which starts later this month, was targeted for her return. But we’ll all have to wait for her highly anticipated return as Serena announced today that she wasn’t ready and will be passing on defending her title this month.
“After competing in Abu Dhabi I realized that although I am super close, I’m not where I personally want to be,” Serena said in a statement. “My coach and team always said, ‘Only go to tournaments when you are prepared to go all the way.’ I can compete — but I don’t want to just compete, I want to do far better than that and to do so, I will need a little more time.
“With that being said, and even though I am disappointed about it, I’ve decided not to compete in the Australian Open this year.”
Venus will be competing in this year’s event again, and while her younger sister isn’t ready yet, she did promise to return.
“The memory of last year’s Open is one that I will carry with me, and Olympia and I look forward to coming back again,” said Serena. “I appreciate the support and understanding of my fans and everyone at the Australian Open.”
Craig Tiley, Australian Open tournament director, had nothing but great things to say about Serena.
“The true champion Serena is has been demonstrated in the herculean efforts she has made over the past few months in her desire to play the Australian Open.
“Serena transcends the sport in the way she approaches all aspects of her life and consistently gives her all in everything she does. It was never going to be good enough for her to just compete, she wants to give herself the best chance to win.”
So we’ll all have to wait a little longer for the GOAT to return. Maybe they should just push the Australian Open back until she does. How great would that be!
