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Of all the opening matches in Cincinnati, Raducanu vs Williams was probably the biggest of the bunch. This was all the more apparent due to Serena’s retirement announcement the previous week in Montreal. Adding to this, it seemed that the tennis Gods wanted to intervene by putting the legend against the US Open champion. And as we all witnessed, the 19-year-old Brit dispatched the 40-year-old American by a score of 6-4 6-0.
Sure, the match might not have lived up to the hype on paper, but it was still a great game to watch in my opinion. I believe this because between the lines, it showed that the next generation of female tennis is finally arriving. Emma Raducanu is obviously a superstar of the game already following her triumph at the 2021 US Open. However, this win seemed all the more significant given that Williams now has just one more tournament before she hangs up her rackets.
Of course, it’s always a somber moment to say goodbye to a legend. And although Williams has stated that her retirement is imminent due to the impossible balance between tennis and family, one has to wonder whether this match highlighted how far off the pace she is these days. So is retirement justified based on the level of her tennis anyway? I’ve shared my thoughts below.
Raducanu Win – The Emphasis on Serena Williams’ Retirement
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I understand that there are more than 20 years between these two players. And naturally, I understand that a 19-year-old should be in better shape and in better form than a 40-year-old. But we already knew all that before Raducanu stepped on court against Serena Williams yesterday. What we didn’t know, however, is how the match would play out and what kind of impact it would have on Williams’ retirement decision.
Regardless, for me, the game showed that Williams is definitely making the right decision with her retirement – here’s why:
Chances of Winning Another Slam Very Slim
Hypothetically, if Serena was to keep playing beyond the 2022 US Open, I don’t see her winning another slam. And deep down, I’m sure Serena also knows this. The match against Raducanu really did show this too. Bear in mind that Raducanu is the current holder of the US Open. So that’s the kind of opponent that Williams would need to overcome to secure a win. This seems all the more impossible after this 6-4 6-0 defeat yesterday.
Movement and Fighting Spirit Not the Same
We all know that Serena Williams will go down as one of the greatest players of all time when she retires. But for me, it’s somewhat painful to see such a legend competing on the court when she is nowhere near her optimum level of tennis. And personally, the two areas that I feel have really faded include her movement and fighting spirit. For the latter, I mean that she doesn’t quite have the ‘steel’ in those key moments anymore.
So to conclude, is her retirement decision justified based on her current level of tennis? Absolutely.
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