A reduced schedule and realistic expectations mean that the 39-year-old is in a good place as she chases her 24th major
Three short weeks ago, Serena Williams sat down for her press conference at the French Open after a bitter straight-sets loss in the fourth round to the young Kazakh Elena Rybakina. During most other phases of Williams’s illustrious career, a defeat so early in any major tournament after a performance so far beneath her potential would have understandably elicited ample frustration. Not this time.
As she dissected her 90 minutes on court, Williams’s tone was positive. She explained that she had, at least, gained more matches under her belt and showed clear improvement from a pair of early losses during the clay season, her least effective surface. “I’m in a much better place than when I got here,” she concluded. “You know, just literally trying to win a match, because it had been a really difficult season for me on the clay.”
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