ALJA TOMLJANOVIĆ. NOT SUREWHOTHAT IS? It’s theAustralian-Croatian woman who’ll be eternally remembered as the tennis player who sent Serena Williams into retirement. Or maybe she won’t? The legend of tennis that is Serena stated even before the start of the Grand Slam in New York that she would play her last match at the U.S. Open. That’s it - the end. And yet, as her face alternated between tears and smiles, this greatest lady player of all time left the back door open slightly... “I don’t knowwhat would have to happen for me to continue. I’m currently not thinking about that, nor about tennis. I’ve always loved Australia, though, which is why I’m not sure if this is my last moment. Technically in the world, I’m still super young, but I’m ready to be like a proper mom, to explore a different version of Serena,” said Williams, who celebrated her 41st birthday on 26th September, while her gaze turned to her daughter Alexis Olympia, sitting in the box. Close friends nonetheless say that there won’t be a comeback. At least not a genuine one. She might play some exhibitionmatch, maybe a minor doubles tournament with her older sister Venus...Maybe.The fact is that, after her loss to Tomljanović, she received wishes for a happy retirement from the likes of former first lady Michelle Obama, talk show star OprahWinfrey, golfer Tiger Woods, basketball ace LeBron James et al. Serena’s career lasted for a full 27 years: from September 1995, when she appeared in the shadow of her sister Venus, until the third round of this year’sU.S. Open. She has stated herself on several occasions that she couldn’t have wished for more from life and tennis: she won 23 Grand Slams and a total of 73 singles titles and 23 doubles titles, she has four Olympic gold medals, spent a total of 319 weeks at the top of the WTA list and earned more than 94 million dollars just from the awards she won. Is Serena the G.O.A.T. – the greatest of all time? She certainly is for Americans, but not quite for the rest of the world. She was widely criticised for turning tennis into a reality show, in which her opponents were merely front row spectators as they waited for “her majesty” to make an appearance on court. Opponents of the life and work of Serena Williams say that her journey from childhood in the ghetto to queen of tennis made her an object of idolisation, but that even a goddess with a racquet has her flaws. She would often explode on court, threatening line judges, while her lack of tact in victory and magnanimity in defeat were capable of leading to her being criticised. The real end of Serena’s career is said to have come in 2017, when shewonher last Grand Slam- the AustralianOpen. She also gave birth in September of that same year and has never againmanaged to return to championship-winning form. But never mind, she at least showed that she’s not a robot with a racquet, but rather a woman, a mother, an athlete... She changed the nature of women's tennis, inspired young girls worldwide, was a great tennis player and her departure to pursue a new life, at the age of 41, will be a loss for tennis. The younger Williams sister changed the very nature of women's tennis with previously unseen explosive power, inspiring girls around the world to make the journey from poverty to success, and tennis will lose a lot with her departure T HE QUE EN OF T ENN I S R E T I R ES SERENA! CIAO FOTO: Profimedia / Dubreuil Corinne/ABACA / Shutterstock Editorial Tennis » Tenis | 109
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