Williams, known as a five-time winner in the singles competition at Wimbledon, was attempting, at the age of 43, to become one of the oldest women to win the main draw singles match at one of tennis’s four Grand Slam competitions. As soon as her match against Elina Svitolina in the first round started, Williams performed as if she were an incredible and younger version of herself. And boy, those enormous servings, along with clean and precise strokes. Epic! On Monday (July 3), she quickly moved within one point of taking a 3-0 lead. And the day did not go as you imagined it.
In the end, it left Venus with a limp, which is an injured representation of a couple of realities that cannot be denied regarding this age of tennis.
Grass is inherently going to be slippery; you’re going to fall at some point. It was just bad luck for me. I started the match perfectly. I was literally killing it. And then I got killed by the grass, Venus explained.
Williams, a former world No. 1 who is currently ranked outside of the top 500 due to a series of ailments that have restricted her to 22 matches since the beginning of 2021, was the oldest player in the field for this year’s tournament and the fourth oldest to play in the main draw at Wimbledon. Williams’ injuries limited her to just 22 matches during that time period.
If your name isn’t Novak Djokovic, it will be very tough to compete successfully in this physically demanding sport in your late 30s and early 40s and be healthy at the same time. Right?!
When Williams exited the court on Monday, she did so with a short wave and a tiny hitch in her step, and the crowd rose to its feet to give her a standing ovation and lavish her with applause. The crowd was definitely grateful for the perseverance and work Williams demonstrated on that day.
At the end of the match, Svitolina had a greater total number of victories (28-16) and a higher ace count (6-2) than Williams had.