Serena Williams

By Nehru Odeh

She has stolen the hearts of many, what with her firm, curvy butt that is as sexy as sin. She has also made  many men commit sin with their adulterous and fornicating thoughts, men who can’t control their salacious feelings and fantasize about her day and night. She has also sparked not a few fires in homes where wives, jealous of their spouses’ infatuations for her, pick little quarrels here and there. And She has virtually won all the titles both in the hearts of men and on several surfaces, whether clay, grass or heart.

She has written her name in gold in the history of the game called lawn tennis, what with her powerful shots and victories after victories and winning laurels after laurels. And she is also known as the comeback queen, having come back several times from the throes of near defeats to snatch victories.

This is Serena Williams, the lawn tennis superstar who has wowed the world for several decades with her uncommon courage, determination and victories on the court. This is Serena, the lady who has broken almost all the records, except one, in the history of the game.  This is Serena, the  lady who has made tennis a runway, what with her fashion sense and struts on and of the courts (she is also  famous  for her unusual and colorful outfits on court) .This is Serena the 38- year- old  who started playing lawn tennis at four. This is Serena who has also won the hearts of many by virtue of her activism and philanthropy, for which she has won many awards.

However, this lawn tennis star who has a knack for breaking records sadly broke the hearts of many when on Thursday, 23 January 2020 she was defeated by 29-year -old Qiang Wang in the  third round of the ongoing Australia Open. Wang played the match of her life to defeat the tennis Amazon in three sets, 6-4, 6-7 (2), 7-5 at Melbourne Park. Serena s’ defeat was all the more unexpected given she had beaten Wang 6-1 6-0 in the quarterfinals of the US Open last year when the Chinese player won just 15 points

In that thrilling game in the Australian Open that lasted two hours, 41 minutes, Serena, the comeback queen, couldn’t come back to snatch victory, as was her wont, due to her 56 unforced errors and Wang’s 20 . Serena, who was  famous for breaking records  and was just a grand slam away to breaking and equaling  Margaret Court’s all time record of 24 majors couldn’t break that record    “I didn’t know I was going to lose,”  Serena, who said she lost the match, regretted. “I don’t play just to have fun and to lose, it’s not fun to play to lose personally,” she added.

Yet the most intriguing thing about that defeat was that Serena was just a step to writing her name in gold on the sands of time. She has tried to equal that record several times of late, at the US Open and Wimbledon in 2018, only for her to lose at the finals to Naomi Osaka  and Angelique Kerber respectively.  Another intriguing thing about this defeat is that 29 year old Wang is ranked 29 on the ATP ranking.

Any significance?  Just a mere coincidence, you may say.  Yet another intriguing thing is that Margaret Court, whose record Serena has been trying to equal to no avail since 2017, as her surname suggests,  has become a metaphor for  the court that Serena must conquer, for the barrier that she must scale through . Yes, Serena must conquer the court for her to equal Margaret Court’s record of 24 majors.

However, many questions, begging for answers, are tugging at the minds of many. Why hasn’t Serena equaled  that record after many attempts since 2017?  Is age now telling on the legend, who is one of the world’s greatest ever? But Serena, who is 38, believes she still has the fire in her to play more grand slams, win them and surpass the record. Still, Serena says it is not just about winning. She is not under any pressure.

“It’s not even about the slams, it’s about me playing good tennis and I didn’t do that today. That is more disappointing. It’s not even just about the win, it’s more (that) I’m better than that,” she said after that defeat. But she sees every game as an opportunity to go out there and win. “I seem to do well at the last two slams of the year (Wimbledon and the US Open). I’ve won them all several times so each of them is an opportunity for me to go out there and win” she said.

But why hasn’t she won since 2017? Why doesn’t she want to break Court’s record??  Why does she continue to break the hearts of many by not winning another grand slam? What goes on in the minds of her  fans each time she loses at a grand slam and fails to equal Court’s record is, “ Not again, Serena!”  Not again, Serena, those near victories and triumphs! Not again, Serena, your failing to win another grand slam for the umpteenth time. Not again Serena, your sighting the Promised Land and not reaching it. Not again, Serena, those defeats and heartbreaks!

If age has nothing to do with it, do her marriage to  Reddit co-founder Alexis Ohanian in New Orleans  on 16 November 2017, childbirth and motherhood have  everything to do with it? Some may argue that Serena won her last grand slam in 2017 while she was three months pregnant. But the truth is, since that marriage and her near death child bearing experience, the legend has never been the same.

Serena had a cesarean-section while delivering her daughter due to pulmonary embolism during labour and was devastated about it. She suffered another pulmonary embolism after giving birth, leaving her bedridden for six weeks and delaying her return to training. In August 2018, Williams announced she was suffering from postpartum depression.

Do all these have telling effects on Serena? Perhaps. Is all hope lost yet? Not at all. Serena believes she still has the bite in her and sees more victories on court ahead. Amazons don’t give up easily, and she will not.  As she sad said, “Every grand slam is an opportunity to go out there and win.” She sees victories in defeats. That is not only her wish but also that of her teeming fans, including her silent,  doting lovers unbeknownst to her.  “I don’t play just to have fun and to lose, it’s not fun to play to lose personally,” she said, after that defeat that was one too many. But what her fans want to hear is, “I will bounce back.” To them that’s fun.  And certainly she will.