"I was getting into it and I put myself in that situation and in the moment; she was grinding and I was locked in" - Saquon Barkley on watching Serena Williams play her last match at the US Open
Saquon Barkley, an American football champion, has discussed watching tennis legend Serena Williams play her final match at the 2022 US Open.
Williams recently lost in the third round of the 2022 US Open to Ajla Tomljanovic in what was most likely the last match of her career. While Williams hasn't made her retirement official yet, it's improbable that the 23-time Grand Slam winner will take to the court again.
A match we will never forget.
Ajla Tomljanovic defeats Serena Williams in three sets. https://t.co/l4Bf3ruWqR
Several celebrities were present at Flushing Meadows to watch Serena Williams play, including the Hadid sisters, Gigi and Bella, Vera Wang, Anna Wintour, Spike Lee, and many more. However, Saquon Barkley, running back for the NFL team the New York Giants, was arguably her biggest supporter.
In response to seeing Serena Williams' final match at the New York Major, Barkley stated in a recent interview with ESPN that he was intensely invested in the match as Williams fought to get the win.
"I was getting into it and I put myself in that situation and in the moment. I am not good at tennis, I only played it one time. Obviously, she didn't get the win. She didn't win the whole thing. But obviously it was her last match. She was grinding and I was locked in and joining," Barkley said.
.@saquon talks to Peyton and Eli about watching @serenawilliams play at the U.S. Open 🐐 https://t.co/Yaqnohxm8i
"I know Serena Williams is evolving away from the sport, maybe I can get her to play" - Venus Williams
The iconic Williams sisters, who have won 14 Major titles playing doubles together, decided to team up once again at the 2022 US Open, presumably for the last time.
Unfortunately, they were defeated by the Czech team of Linda Noskova and Lucie Hradecka in the opening round. Hradecka and Noskova won 7-6(5), 6-4, spoiling the Williams sister's first doubles match at Flushing Meadows since 2014.
In light of this, Venus Williams reflected on the occasion of playing with her sister Serena in front of their home crowd in an interview posted on her own YouTube channel. The seven-time Grand Slam champion stated that she might be able to persuade her younger sister to return to the court so they can play doubles together.
"I know for Serena I, we have had and lots of wins and even though she's evolving away from the sport, she might evolve back for doubles. Maybe I can get her to play," Venus said.
"I don't even know what I'm thinking of again. But what I do know is we played great the match when we play great and I'm super proud of what we accomplish on the court," she continued.