OPINION: The fall of an icon - Serena Williams has no place at Wimbledon

[p]This is news that had been anticipated for several weeks. Yet now it’s official: [a href="https://www.flashscore.ca/player/williams-serena/ttsu68nH/"]Serena Williams[/a] will indeed play in the Wimbledon women’s singles, as she has received the last available wildcard.[/p][p][b][a href="https://www.flashscore.ca/news/tennis-wimbledon-wta-singles-serena-williams-to-make-singles-return-at-wimbledon-after-being-given-wildcard/0dlY9E5F/"]Serena Williams will make her singles return at Wimbledon[/a][/b][/p][p]There was widespread astonishment when she announced her return to the game. Entered in doubles at Queen’s with [a href="https://www.flashscore.ca/player/mboko-victoria/AqVez8TJ/"]Victoria Mboko[/a], she picked up a win before her partner was injured in singles and had to withdraw.[/p][p]Then, with [a href="https://www.flashscore.ca/player/muchova-karolina/Or4Qa1ye/"]Karolina Muchova[/a], she lost in the first round in Berlin. In any case, it had already been announced that she would receive a doubles wildcard for the Grand Slam in London, partnering with none other than her sister, [a href="https://www.flashscore.ca/player/williams-venus/M7dojKaa/"]Venus Williams[/a].[/p][h2]Unworthy of a champion[/h2][p]Why not just one last run in doubles? After all, her older sister, at 46, is nearing the end, and it seems likely this will be a final appearance at Wimbledon before a true farewell at the US Open. That would make sense to close out a 30-year story in women’s tennis.[/p][p]For Venus, it’s clear she doesn’t have much left to do on court. Although she’s received numerous invitations this season, she hasn’t won a single match.[/p][p]It’s understandable that tournaments would invite a legend, even if she’s no longer competitive: the Williams brand has always sold, it’s timeless. But in terms of playing level, it’s starting to tarnish the end of a 21st-century legend’s career.[/p][p]Serena, on the other hand, isn’t just a legend: she is THE legend, the one held up as a role model by half the WTA tour. The one with no fewer than 23 Grand Slam titles. The one who came back after motherhood and managed to reach a very high level again, clearly paving the way for many players, so that this is now fully normalised.[/p][embed guid="e46554eb-1c74-4a3a-817e-2533d21d5649" url="https://x.com/Wimbledon/status/2068766175018754128" social-type="twitter" /][p]At 44, she’s been absent from the WTA tour since the 2022 US Open, when she said her goodbye. Farewells are rarely perfect, but it was clear her time had come.[/p][p]The emotion from that final speech offered a beautiful conclusion for her and her fans. But all of that, like everything else, is swept away by this return to the court.[/p][p]We’re not talking about a player who never managed to win a major title. We’re talking about the most decorated player of the century, who has nothing left to prove, who doesn’t need money, who’s had enough glory for a lifetime, and who may well (we’ll never know for sure) have shattered the dream of a young player who hoped for a wildcard to launch her career on London’s grass.[/p][p]That’s just the tip of the iceberg. As for the rest… There was nothing remarkable in her doubles matches, physically or in terms of pure tennis. Of course, she could get a favourable draw and win a round, but she can’t win the tournament. For a player who spent her career stacking up titles and breaking records, that’s a shame.[/p][p]And after that? We’re waiting for more information. If this is the start of a genuine second career on the WTA tour, then maybe it could be 'understandable'.[/p][p]If it’s just one last personal pleasure to play Wimbledon and then the US Open, it’s unworthy of the champion she was: it would seem like the whim of a player who has won everything, who chose her ending, and who, one morning, threw it all away out of pride or, worse, out of boredom.[/p]