"No one should tell any athlete to retire" - Journalist defends Venus Williams against retirement comments following US Open 1R loss
Tennis legend Venus Williams' remarkable 24th appearance at the US Open 2023 was cut short on Tuesday (August 30) when she was defeated 6-1, 6-1 by Greet Minnen of Belgium in the first round.
This performance was the undeniable passing of the tennis torch. The 43-year-old, known for her numerous great contributions to the sport, was outmatched by her 26-year-old opponent, Minnen, who put on an impressive performance across the court.
Following the contest, a fan named Jamie Harvey took to Twitter to say that the older Williams sister should take the mike at the end of the match and announce her retirement, as continuing to play like this is embarrassing for her.
"@jon_wertheim hope Venus grabs the mike at the end of the match and says that was it. Thank you all. This is embarrassing," the fan posted.
In response, journalist Jon Wertheim defended Venus Williams, saying that no journalist or fan should tell an athlete to retire, writing:
"No journalist (or fan) should tell any athlete to retire… Again: given how corruptly wild cards are distributed and swapped, giving one to a 7x Major champ who draws fans and still wants to compete at age 43, hardly qualifies as a grievous offense."
Wertheim added that Venus Williams did defeat a top-15 player earlier this month, so, at the very least, this provides insight into her athlete psychology.
"On the other hand, she beat a top-15 player earlier this month... If nothing else, this provides a fascinating glimpse of an elite athlete’s psychology," he wrote.
"I don't think it was a lack of my body not holding up, I just had some really bad luck" - Venus Williams
Venus Williams stated in her post-match press conference that she does not believe she played poorly against Greet Minnen, but rather that she was simply unlucky at the time. She added that there were aspects of the match over which she had no control.
"Yeah, I mean, I definitely could have hoped for more throughout the year," Williams said. "Honestly, I just had some really bad luck. I don't think it was a lack of my body not holding up, it was just a lack of, like, really bad luck with injuries. There were things I couldn't control."
"I love playing here," she added. "I really gave it my all today. I really played some great shots, but she had some incredible answers to that. I wish I could have been more prepared for that."