Serving, fighting and stance have all been staples in tennis for two and a half decades. After these weeks, they will probably never be seen again. If there was any doubt about the significance of Williams’ impending retirement, the spectacle that greeted her arrival at Arthur Ashe Stadium for the tournament’s potential final nailed it. Mike Tyson sat next to Martina Navratilova. Gladys Knight appeared on Midnight Train to Georgia playing in the background. In the Williams players’ box, her daughter, Olympia, emerged into the stands with beads in her braids, a full-circle moment. After Danka Kovinić arrived at Arthur Ashe Stadium to clap about golf, Williams’ entrance was preceded by a video narrated by Queen Latifah. She entered in a costume that sparkled from head to toe in diamonds, from her hair to the bedazzled cape that swept her off the field. Both Kanye West’s Diamonds from Sierra Leone and a deafening, sustained roar from his crowd soundtracked her arrival. As they warmed up, screens around the edge of Arthur Ashe Stadium read “greatest of all time” and the announcer listed Williams’ accomplishments in painstaking detail. Williams has competed in the biggest tournaments in the world, fought her way back from the brink and held all four grand slams simultaneously. At the height of her powers, when dominance was her middle name, her psychic power was unmatched. But he has never experienced anything like this, playing with the knowledge that this is the end. Under such pressure, she did well and performed much better than in her other recent outings. Her nerves were natural from the start and she double faulted twice in her opening game. Even after a break, he couldn’t settle down. Every roar from the crowd initially seemed to be an unwelcome reminder of the importance of this moment, and as her forehand leaked uncorrectable errors, she initially seemed overwhelmed. But Williams refused to end her career with a first-round loss. She has struggled a lot in recent months, winning just once in her previous three trails and succumbing to a 6-4, 6-0 loss to Emma Raducanu two weeks ago in Cincinnati. “I was very emotional in Toronto and Cincinnati,” she said afterward. “It was very difficult. I’m not saying it’s not difficult now. It’s still extremely difficult because I really like being out there.” Gayle King interviews Serena Williams on court after her win. Photo: Justin Lane/EPA Her desperation to end her career on a positive note was palpable. You could hear her little steps crunching across the court at every point, the drop shots she chased down at full sprint and the grunts that punctuated every important moment. From her players’ box, Rennae Stubbs, her new single-tournament advisor, took advantage of the new coaching rules to shout out positive affirmations. Amidst the constant chants of the crowd, Kovinic was calm and present, unnerving Williams with her consistency, length and sharp first serve. But after her lukewarm start, Williams slowly found her serve and the free points she unlocked. He rallied from a break down to win the first set and then after struggling badly with his forehand, the errors flowing freely, he began to unload with increasing freedom. By the end of the match she was playing as she always should, imposing herself behind the baseline. There was a time, not too long ago, when any Williams victory was simply expected. How quickly things change. As Williams processed her win, she struck a completely different note to her usual outlook. “Everything is a bonus for me,” he said. From the public the feeling was mutual. As he reached the point of the race, almost all of Arthur Ashe’s fans stood up and watched the entire final point on their feet, craning their necks to catch one last glimpse of Williams in full flow. After a career with devastating expectations, Williams has achieved too much not to believe in herself as she next faces out-of-form world No.2 Anett Kontaveit. She will go into the second round match determined to create at least one last signature moment. Even now, in her 40s, with her recent struggles, it’s hard to question her ability to do so. After the win, Williams remained courtside for the ceremony where Gayle King and Billie Jean King spoke and played a video narrated by Oprah. Olympia, Williams’ husband, Alexis Ohanian, and her sister, Isa, stood courtside. Williams addressed the audience and in the middle of her remarks, she briefly outlined why this makes so much sense. “I just want people to be inspired,” Williams said. “I’m from Compton, California. And I did it.”
