Tennis great Martina Navratilova has served up a brutal reality check for Serena Williams, ahead of the American’s highly anticipated farewell from the sport.
The 23-time major winner – while refusing to use the word ‘retirement’ – revealed this month that she was “evolving” away from tennis.
Williams confirmed in an article written for Vogue magazine that she will finish her career later this month at the US Open.
“I have never liked the word retirement,” she wrote.
“Maybe the best word to describe what I’m up to is evolution. I’m here to tell you that I’m evolving away from tennis, toward other things that are important to me.”
Unfortunately for Williams, since her return to singles tennis, the 23-time grand slam champion has gone 1-3 after being eliminated in the first round of Wimbledon and the Cincinnati Masters.
The American’s solitary win at the Canadian Open was followed up by a thumping at the hands of Belinda Bencic in the next round.
While Williams has been able to dictate the terms of her retirement off the court, Navratilova has warned the American that she is unlikely to be able to do so on-court.
“Serena did it her way, which was announcing in a very glamorous way on Vogue magazine, but then she is not accepting the losses, she is not accepting what comes with it which is saying goodbye,” Navratilova said.
The 18-time major winner says while the American champion and her legion of fans would love a fairytale ending, it is not a realistic notion.
Williams’ latest conqueror, Emma Raducanu, produced a Cinderella story for the ages after becoming the first qualifier in history to win last year’s US Open.
However, Navratilova says she simply can’t see Williams turning back the clock to conjure a similarly magical story at Flushing Meadows.
