NEW YORK — Welcome again to the US Open, Serena Williams.
Williams, a 23-time Grand Slam singles champion, returned to Flushing Meadows on Saturday — however she was watching tennis, not taking part in it.
And he or she introduced again an outdated look, sporting a denim skirt just like the one she sported whereas competing in New York in 2004.
This was the primary go to to the US Open by Williams since 2022, when she performed there within the last event of her profession. She made it to the third spherical then earlier than dropping to Ajla Tomljanovic in her final match, though Williams was cautious to not say she was retiring, however somewhat described it as “evolving” away from skilled tennis.
She has been a lot busy ever since, pursuing her enterprise pursuits, signing a e-book deal, placing out a documentary sequence at present airing on ESPN and, in July, internet hosting the ESPYS. Williams gave delivery to her second daughter a 12 months in the past.
The 42-year-old American gained six singles championships on the US Open — tied with Chris Evert for probably the most — throughout her a long time of dominance with a racket in her palms. This time Williams was sitting in a collection in Arthur Ashe Stadium whereas Jannik Sinner, the No. 1-ranked man, earned a straight-sets victory within the third spherical towards Christopher O’Connell.
Williams made her manner across the grounds, testing American Tommy Paul’s win at Louis Armstrong Stadium and stopping by the gamers’ health club at one level for a chat with the present girls’s No. 1, Iga Swiatek, who was scheduled to play on Saturday evening.
Certainly one of Williams’ good associates, 2018 Australian Open champion and former No. 1 Caroline Wozniacki, joked after profitable Saturday to get to the fourth spherical that she was disenchanted to not have noticed Williams within the spectator seats on the Grandstand.
“I’ll textual content her,” Wozniacki mentioned with amusing. “I am fairly mad at her for not displaying up at my match. … I believe we now have to speak about that slightly bit later.”
