That, in and of itself, is noteworthy.
“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 Saturday. “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 have fun, stay relaxed and be my personal best.”
“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.”
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 favor of equal prize money for women at Wimbledon.
“She’s one of the best athletes of all time,” two-time U.S. Open semifinalist 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.”
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.
In 2000, Venus became the first Black woman since Althea Gibson in the 1950s to win the championship at the All England Club.
“She’s (had) a huge impact. … It’s so cool to see a legend still playing, still doing what she loves,” 2021 U.S. Open runner-up Leylah Fernandez said. “It’s not, kind of, to prove people wrong, but it’s because she truly loves the sport — and you can see the kid in her. I love that.”
Indeed, asked why she would bother playing, Williams replied: “Why not?”
“It’s amazing that now African-American girls know they can play tennis, that that’s an option, an opportunity for them to be out there, too, on the court, in whatever capacity,” she said, “whether you get to the pros, whether you play college or whether you just learn from the sport.”
