Leave it up to some of the great artists in modern times to explain their masterpieces in the most basic terms. And if a modern-day Leonardo da Vinci was inspired to engineer a masterpiece that epitomized his famous quote, that simplicity is the ultimate sophistication, what he might have come up with is a portrait of Venus Williams with a tennis racquet.
Twenty eight years (and 23 combined Grand Slam titles and four Olympic gold medals) after debuting at the US Open, Williams, 45 years young, will once again grace Arthur Ashe Stadium as a singles competitor. Her inspiring comeback, relaunched earlier this summer, continues on Monday as a wild card, when the 2000 and 2001 US Open women’s singles champion plays No. 11 seed Karolina Muchova under the lights of Ashe.
The tennis world was already in awe when the news of Williams returning to the tour was official, even before she went on to win her first two matches as a wild card in Washington, D.C., against Peyton Stearns in the first round in singles and alongside Hailey Baptiste in doubles. Given Williams’ pedigree, despite her prolonged absence from the game, it wouldn’t be surprising if her expectations were high for herself as she prepares for her first Grand Slam match since the 2023 US Open. What’s the most important thing Williams has taken from those lead-up matches in D.C. and Cincinnati going into Monday?
“Hit it too hard, it goes out. So I'm going to try to hit less hard so it goes in,” Williams said to reporters on Saturday.
Voilà! Simple as that!
“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 continued. “I haven't played as much as the other players, so it's a different challenge when you're dealing with that. So I'm just trying to, like, have fun, stay relaxed and be my personal best.”
When Williams played her first main draw in Flushing as a 17-year-old (and proceeded to make the final as an unseeded player), it was also the first year Arthur Ashe Stadium had opened its doors, back in 1997. When she walks onto the court bearing the name of the 1968 US Open men’s singles champion and civil rights icon, Williams—herself a US Open champion and a civil rights icon, especially in the fight for equal prize money—will do so as the Open celebrates the 75th anniversary of another Black pioneer, Althea Gibson, breaking the color barrier in professional tennis when she competed in the 1950 U.S. National Championships.
“I think the most important part is that we are celebrating it and recognizing it, because Althea accomplished so much, and a lot of it has not been given the credit it deserves and the attention and the praise,” Williams said. “I think that's the most important part to me, just shining light on it and seeing, just acknowledging that.”
Williams’ greatness, alongside her sister Serena, shaped the direction of the women’s tour as much as any single entity in the Open Era. Many of the women who admitted that the Williams sisters were sources of inspiration in their careers will be playing in this US Open alongside Williams next week. Williams’ advice for them is again full of sagacious pithiness.
“Just enjoy yourself. When you're having fun, things are easy,” Williams said. “When you're not, it's not as much fun. You have to put the fun first.”
Only Williams knows whether her 25th appearance in the US Open women’s singles draw will be her last at Flushing Meadows (or her last tennis as a professional, period), but whenever she leaves the game of tennis, the sport will never leave her…and will always keep her young.
“I think I'll always play tennis. It's in my DNA. So it doesn't matter if it's now or 30 years from now. God-willing, I'll be here, we'll all be here, we'll all be hitting balls,” Williams said. “Maybe I'll come back to watch. Maybe I'll be saying I did it better, and it won't be true. But in any case, tennis will always be one of the most important parts of my life.”
Another great artist, Pablo Picasso, was quoted as saying: “Every child is an artist. The problem is how to remain an artist once we grow up.”
Williams, from teenage prodigy to all-time great and champion the world over, already has that answer.
