Williams, the opponent
Due to her long break, Williams has now slipped to 1204th place in the world rankings – and is still valued and feared by all opponents. Not only Angelique Kerber trusts the oldest participant in the field “a lot”. World number one Iga Swiatek from Poland even reported that she was “overwhelmed” when she saw Williams training in Wimbledon shortly before the tournament started and didn’t know how to react.
Williams the committed
During her career, Williams repeatedly spoke eloquently on social issues, denounced racism and demanded more equality. And so the American was also asked about the controversial decision of the US Supreme Court, which overturned the country’s liberal abortion law. All the more surprising that Williams dodged. She doesn’t have any thoughts yet that she’s ready to share, she said. Almost an hour later, Coco Gauff, who was 22 years younger, sharply criticized the verdict.
Williams the businesswoman
Even during the sporting break, Williams was not idle professionally. Serena Ventures, a private equity firm, provides capital primarily to companies whose founders come from historically disadvantaged backgrounds. She raised more than $100 million in a year. “When you have a company like that, you have to go all in,” she explained. “It takes up all my extra time. And it’s fun. I’ll be out of the office for the next few weeks. If you email me, you get a nice out-of-office notice.”
How long this will remain activated also depends on Williams’ physical condition. But it should be at least two weeks. Even if she herself didn’t want to clearly declare the title as a goal, her trainer Eric Hechtman made this clear a little later in the “New York Times”: “She’s a champion, isn’t she?” he said. “And she’s playing Wimbledon for a reason. Everyone else who starts the tournament wants to win it. And that’s our goal.”
Williams, the mother
And besides the record, Williams would also achieve something else remarkable: In the 138-year history of Wimbledon, she would be only the fifth mother to win the tournament. Daughter Olympia is now four years old.