It increasingly feels like this North American summer is the trial run for a new era. The US Open lost Roger Federer and Rafael Nadal to knee and injuries respectively, before Serena Williams announced that she had not recovered sufficiently from her hamstring problem to compete in New York. That was followed by Venus Williams pulling out of the tournament in the wake of her 2-6 3-6 loss to Hsieh Su-wei in the first round at the WTA Chicago Open.
When Federer, Nadal and Serena Williams withdrew, much was made of the forthcoming US Open being the first Grand Slam since the 1997 edition of the tournament not to feature that decorated trio. But Venus Williams has been such a fixture of the women’s game that she not only competed in that event, but in fact made it all the way to the final, where she lost Martina Hingis, and finished that year ranked inside the world’s top 25.
She has not been a comparable force to her sister in the women’s game or ‘Fedal’ in the men’s, having won her last Major title at Wimbledon in 2008, but there are still few players who can match her list of accomplishments. Nor should it be forgotten that she made two Grand Slam finals (and a further semifinal) as recently as 2017. If her withdrawal from the tournament is not a blow on the same scale as the aforementioned trio’s, it is still a loss to the tournament.
The American cited a leg injury that has troubled her throughout the summer as the reason for her decision to pull out of the final Grand Slam of the year. It has not been her most productive season at the Majors by any stretch of the imagination, but she did reach the second round at both the Australian Open and Wimbledon and certainly deserved the wildcard that the USTA offered her with her current ranking of world #147 not high enough to secure her direct entry to the tournament.
Fortunately for the US Open, there will still be plenty of talent on display in New York. Novak Djokovic will be looking to complete the Calendar Slam and pull one clear of Nadal and Federer in the Grand Slam title race. In the women’s draw, there is more star power still, with a host of Grand Slam champions including world #1 Ashleigh Barty, defending champion Naomi Osaka and top-ten stalwart Simona Halep set to grace the courts in New York.
Nonetheless, Williams’ presence will be missed. Time is an inescapable enemy, even for the most august players, and it is becoming increasingly hard to ignore the fact that it is catching up with most of the players who have defined this era. Williams has had to face more than her share of challenges throughout her career and it is quite remarkable that she has competed at the highest level for so long in the face of them. But whilst this may not be the very end of the line, there are now surely few stops left.
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