Why Serena Williams' 2022 season suggests she will always be around despite stepping away from the tennis tour
If one looks at the tennis players who made the 2022 season memorable, Serena Williams is undoubtedly among those at the top of the list. While the months leading up to the American tennis legend's farewell had already given fans a hint of life on tour without Williams, her farewell still affected millions across the world who were hit by the sudden realization that they would not see her competing on tour ever again.
Serena Williams was nowhere near the WTA tour when the 2022 season began. As a matter of fact, she was not even on the practice courts back home at the time, searching for inspiration to return while she also worked on recovering from the injury that ended her 2021 season at Wimbledon itself. That exile from the pro tour continued throughout the first half of the season.
During the sans-Williams phase, many young superstars in the sport continued to grab headlines, with Ashleigh Barty's retirement, new No. 1 Iga Swiatek's incredible run of dominance, and Coco Gauff's rise to the top, among the major stories that kept the excitement going in women's tennis. However, something was still quite evidently missing for fans of the sport - Serena Williams. Many feared whether she had called time on her career without actually calling time on her career.
Williams then laid rest to all speculation by announcing her comeback after reigniting the spirit of tennis within her and making another push to win a record-equalling 24th Grand Slam singles title. She took to the court for the first time in almost a year in a doubles competition at the Eastbourne International. However, her more eagerly anticipated singles return came at Wimbledon, where the seven-time champion looked far off her best self on the court, and understandably so after such a long time away, losing to a player making her Wimbledon debut.
She then dropped the retirement announcement in the build-up to the US Open and played her final career match in the third round of the New York Major. Williams could not clinch a record-equalling Grand Slam title and played just seven singles matches all season, winning only three of those, while also dropping outside the Top 1000 in the WTA rankings.
However, Serena Williams' 2022 season will not be remembered for her waning tennis powers, but for the legacy she leaves behind, which is quite brightly reflected in how other tennis players, both past and present, look up to her. Williams inspired a whole new generation of tennis players with her conduct both on and off the court, with many young tennis superstars, from Gauff to Swiatek, often highlighting the same in their words of admiration for the 41-year-old.
Serena Williams also etched her name in front of many records and statistics in the tennis history books, and some of those incredible records might take years before they can be surpassed if at all they can be surpassed. Current and future generations of players will also constantly strive to emulate Williams in that regard for years to come.
Has Serena Williams really retired from tennis?
After announcing her decision to step away from the sport, Serena Williams has been hinting of late that she may not be done with tennis after all. She continues to suggest that she is "not retired" and one can "never say never" when it comes to the possibility of her making a comeback to play at least one more Grand Slam.
However, that remains a far-fetched possibility as the American great had clearly expressed her intention to grow her family and spend more time with them, along with focusing on her business ventures, as the main reason behind her "evolution away from tennis."
Off the court as well, Williams continues to garner attention like only a few others. In a season where she hardly played and competed, she still firmly cemented her place among the world's most marketable and talked-about athletes, further highlighting her following and her place in the GOAT debate.
Williams may or may not return to the pro tennis tour, but owing to her immense success and contribution to tennis both on and off the court, does the question of her return really arise as she will always be a part of most conversations in the sport and will never really step away in essence?