Venus’ age gets attention at US Open

NEW YORK (AP):

It’s a given that much of the coverage and attention devoted to Venus Williams’ return to the US Open, where play began yesterday, has focused — and will focus — on how old she is. The American is, after all, 45, an age at which no one has competed in singles in New York since 1981.

That, in and of itself, is noteworthy.

And yet there is plenty more that is significant about her first appearance at a Grand Slam tournament in two full years, regardless of how Williams plays in Arthur Ashe Stadium tonight when meets Karolina Muchova, the 2023 French Open runner-up and a two-time semi-finalist in New York.

“I want to be my best, and that’s the expectation I have for myself: to get the best out of me. And that’s all any player can ask for,” Williams said on Saturday. “I haven’t played as much as the other players, so it’s a different challenge when you’re dealing with that.”

Williams made it back to the tour in July, 16 months after last playing an official match anywhere and less than a year after she had surgery for uterine fibroids.

“It’s just really, I would say, inspiring,” said Naomi Osaka, 27, a four-time Grand Slam champion. “My only thing is: I don’t really like how every headline mentions her age. ... We all know how old she is. But it’s kind of more the broader [significance] — how much of a legend she is in this sport.”

Williams and her younger sister Serena, whose last match as a pro came at Flushing Meadows in 2022, represent an indelible chapter in the history of tennis, yes, but also of sports in a greater sense and even American society.

They transcended the mere scores and stats and win-and-loss ledgers, and made it all about far more than that, including Venus’ famous stand in favour of equal prize money for women at Wimbledon.

“She’s one of the best athletes of all time,” two-time US Open semi-finalist Frances Tiafoe said. “Her and her sister, they’re not only great for the women’s game, not only great for women’s sports, but they are so iconic.”

VENUS AND SERENA WILLIAMS REACHED THE TOP OF TENNIS

Their story bears repeating: Two siblings were first taught tennis by their self-taught father and both not only made it to the professional tour, but both reached No. 1 in the rankings and won the most important trophies in their global sport.

“People, I guess,” Osaka said, “should value them a little bit more.”

Osaka grew up watching the Williams sisters, then competed against them.

So did plenty of other women, such as Coco Gauff, who first announced herself to the world by defeating Venus at Wimbledon in 2019. After that match, Gauff — just 15 at the time — said she thanked Venus “for everything she did”, and told reporters: “I wouldn’t be here if it wasn’t for her.”