Serena Williams, the 23-time
Grand Slam singles champion, made her way back to the US Open on Saturday,
making her return as the Queen of Queens. She also came with style, sporting a denim
skirt like the one she wore in 2004 when competing in New York and losing to Jennifer
Capriati in a contentious quarterfinal match. Poor umpiring throughout that match
led to it being highlighted later on when electronic line-calling
was added to Grand Slam tennis. Williams made her first trip to the U.S.
Open on Saturday since her final professional competition there in 2022. Williams was
cautious not to declare her retirement, preferring to characterize it as 'evolving'
away from professional tennis. Nevertheless, she advanced to the third round before falling
to Ajla Tomljanovic in her final match. Since then, she has been very busy pursuing
her commercial endeavors, landing a book deal, releasing a documentary series
that airs on ESPN right now, and presenting the ESPYS in July. A year ago,
Williams gave birth to her second daughter. During her decades of domination with
a racket in her hands, the 42-year-old American tied Chris Evert for the most U.S.
Open singles championship wins. This time, Williams was seated in a suite at Arthur
Ashe Stadium as the top-seeded player, Jannik Sinner, defeated Chris
O'Connell in three sets. Walking about the grounds, Williams
saw American Tommy Paul's victory at Louis Armstrong Stadium and once
stopped by the players' gym to speak with current No. 1 women's ranked player Iga
Swiatek, who was playing on Saturday night. After winning on Saturday to
advance to the fourth round, Williams' close friend and 2018 Australian Open
champion Caroline Wozniacki remarked that she was bummed not to have seen Williams
in the Grandstand's spectator seats. With a giggle, Wozniacki remarked, "I'm
going to text her." "I'm a little upset with her for missing my match." I believe
that's something we should discuss later. Tennis is having a moment despite Williams'
absence from the game. This is evident in the new Zendaya movie Challengers, which uses the
game as the setting for a three-person love tale. Season 4, Episode 1 of "Emily in Paris" is set
in Roland Garros. Additionally, there will be an upcoming Carlos Alcaraz show and a recently
released docuseries about Williams and Roger Federer. Williams will also be hosting the ESPYs,
and she will be seen in the opening ceremony of the Paris Olympics alongside Coco Gauff,
Rafael Nadal, Amelie Mauresmo, and Williams. These days, tennis has been ingrained in both
culture and psyche. And that's wonderful to see,' said Williams' longtime representative
Jill Smoller. "With all the TV shows and films, the ongoing integration of sports and fashion, you can see athletes represented
in almost every industry." With Williams setting a women's record with 23
Grand Slam singles championships before retiring in 2022, Novak Djokovic reaching 24
and continuing, Rafael Nadal at 22, and Roger Federer, who announced
his retirement two years ago, at 20, the sport is emerging
from a golden age on the court. There's a new generation of rising stars
now. Iga Swiatek, the top-ranked woman, is 23 years old and has already won five
major titles. Alcaraz, who is 21 years old, has four, including the last two at
Wimbledon and the French Open. Gauff is 20 years old and won his first Slam
trophy at Flushing Meadows a year ago.