Serena Williams is dealing with her sudden Wimbledon loss.
Serena Williams, 40, spoke out about her return to tennis on Tuesday after Harmony Tan, France, defeated Williams in her first singles match for a year. She called it “insane” and “intense”.
She wrote, “Not the outcome I expected, but my goodness, that was what I got,” and included a photo of her waving to the crowd. “I hope that you enjoyed it as well. Keep moving forward.
After Williams, 24, and Tan, 24, fought for three hours and ten minutes, Tuesday’s match ended in an epic tie-breaker. Williams struggled during the first set, which ended in Tan’s favor. However, despite his struggles, Williams won the second set 6-1.
This defeat in the first round comes nearly exactly one year after Williams sustained a hamstring injury that prevented her from progressing past the first round.
Williams spoke to BBC after the 2021 match about her feelings of doubt and the injury she suffered while playing Aliaksandra Snovich at Wimbledon 2021.
In April, Williams teased a 2022 Wimbledon appearance in an Instagram Story. But, unfortunately, it was posted by Aaron Rodgers, Green Bay Packers quarterback.
Williams, 38, told Rodgers’ followers, “We’ve talked about my comeback and he’s been hypeing me up, getting me ready for Wimbledon,”
Williams said that she was taking her recovery one day at a time.
In the second round, Tan will take on Sara Sorribes Tormo (32nd-seeded) from Spain.
Serena Williams’ epic defeat to Harmony Tan is over as the 40-year-old gets caught up.
Serena Williams’ career has seen her enjoy a few comebacks, but there aren’t many things that she has enjoyed more than this. In 2003, she had knee surgery and was back as a grand champion.
She won the title after being ranked 81st at the 2007 Australian Open. In 2011, she almost died from a pulmonary embolism, but she persevered to live her best years. She survived a potentially fatal pregnancy in 2017 and still managed to make it to the final four of the Grand Slams.
Williams has been a professional tennis player for 27 years and has witnessed generations rise and fall. Most of her contemporaries are now over a decade old. However, the time came for all of us, and Williams showed her determination in the final chapter of her career by demonstrating her resolve on Centre Court.
After injuring her hamstring last year in a fall at Centre Court, she could not play singles for 52 weeks. But, on Tuesday, Williams made her return to singles in the same venue. Rusty, lacking confidence and facing a player who gave her no, Williams recovered and battled hard before falling 7-5, 6-1, 7-6 (7) against France’s Harmony Tan.
The world No.115 Tan was a great draw in terms of experience and ranking. Tan is a skilled player who has a wide range of shots, slices, spins, and other tricks. Williams struggled to find her rhythm after a one-year layoff and raised her game.
Tan said that she was scared when she saw the draw. “Because Serena Williams is the winner, she’s a legend. I was speechless. How could I play? It would be great if I could win just one or two games.
Williams was leading 4-2, 40-15, and 15 in the first set, despite struggling at times. It seemed like she was taking control. However, Tan kept working with Williams with drop shots, slicing off both wings and slices, forcing Williams to move forward and bend to her knees to stop her rhythm. She then took control of the set by moving Williams forward and winning a forehand pass shot.
Centre Court was shut down as Williams cried. After a 20-minute battle on Tan’s serve, Williams broke serve for 2-0. Tan had seven break points. She ended up comically sealing the deal by launching a loopy backhand and a forehand that was too high for Tan.
Williams seemed to be settled after Williams had won the break. As she began to dictate from the baseline, Williams’ serve started to shine instead of following Tan’s slice around. She lost her 3-1 lead and then served for the match. Tan won it with a backhand passing move.
Tan won 6-5 with a drop-shot winner. Williams fought hard to keep the match alive and saved a match point by winning a forehand drive volleyball winner. The Centre Court crowd cheered loudly for the seven-time champion. Williams struggled in the final tie-break, despite having played so many matches. Tan held firm.
Williams said, “Today, I did everything I could,” Williams said, “Maybe tomorrow, I could have given more. Perhaps a week ago, I could have given more. Today was all I could do. You have to learn to accept that. That’s all I can do.”
Williams was asked whether she would be returning to Wimbledon. She did not know the answer. She said, “That’s not a question I can answer.” “Like, that’s a question I can’t answer.” Who knows where I’ll end up? Who knows where I might end up?”
Williams said her first match back was a close loss, and she felt motivated to play on the practice courts again to get better for the US Open. It makes me want the practice courts. When you’re playing well and are so close, it’s motivating. As I mentioned, any opponent would have been more suited to my game than I was. It’s almost like Serena can do whatever you want.
During her press conferences this week, she insists that she doesn’t know how long she will continue.
Serena Ventures is her venture capital firm. This takes up a lot of her time. She stated that she had put on her out-of-office message for a few days, but she will be back.
She is certain she will continue to be motivated even after her career ends. There is nothing quite like going to Centre Court and finding a way to play the best tennis she can, so she keeps coming back.
After her loss, the question is now what she wants and whether this new return will be a goodbye to Wimbledon.
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