The tennis world was on the edge of its seat, waiting to see how far Serena Williams would make it in her return to a Grand Slam, nine months after giving birth to her daughter. Her return to the French Open was the first time she’s played on clay in two years!
She beat Kristyna Pliskova in straight sets and then won her second round match against No. 17 Ashleigh Barty in three sets.
A win over No. 11 Julia Goerges set up a fourth round match against Maria Sharapova, but on Monday, less than an hour before the match was to begin, she withdrew from the tournament, citing a pectoral injury. This is the first time Serena has ever withdrawn from a Grand Slam tournament. Sharapova will move on to the quarterfinals and it’s unclear when we’ll see Serena back on the court.
It’s unfortunate because Williams vs. Sharapova was a highly anticipated showdown, and a matchup we haven’t seen since 2016.
Serena may be leaving Roland Garros without a trophy or grand slam title, but you have to admire what she accomplished. She suffered complications associated with the birth of her daughter, which made her comeback even more difficult. She came to Paris unseeded and ranked 453rd! Not to mention she entered the doubles tournament with her sister Venus, doubling her workload. The fact that she was able to return to the sport on a world stage and perform like she did after health issues is amazing.
In the three matches she did play she wore a fierce catsuit-like outfit that likened her to the superhero many consider to be. She posted on Twitter that she wanted to inspire other moms recovering from pregnancy with that outfit. So awesome.
We’ll have to wait for Serena to win another major (you’d have to be a fool to bet against her), but there are so many who can’t wait to see it. It was already hard to doubt she’s the greatest female athlete of all time, but that fact will be pretty much cemented when she wins another slam after having a baby.
In the meantime, if you like cute babies, go follow Serena, her husband Alexis and their little girl Olympia on Instagram. She’s adorable and you won’t regret it!
