‘I said no disrespect…’: Maria Sharapova reacts to Serena Williams’ US Open exit, reveals conversation from last year
Since her impending retirement announcement, Serena Williams lost in the second round at the Canadian Open, followed by a first-round exit at the Cincinnati Open and she crashed out of the third round at the US Open 2022. In her home Grand Slam event, Serena lost to Ajla Tomljanovic 5-7, 7(7)-6(4), 1-6. Despite her defeat, Serena was applauded by fans and experts with former rival Maria Sharapova also joining the bandwagon.
Speaking on ESPN, the former tennis world no. 1 revealed that she urged Serena to make a comeback last year and also stated that the American was 'much better' than the current generation of players. Williams suffered a leg injury during Wimbledon last year and made her comeback in the 2022 edition, where she lost in the first round.
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"We spoke about it at the Met last year during this time of year and I said no disrespect to this generation but you are so much better and you need to go out there, so I’m glad that she had a chance here", she said.
Meanwhile, the 23-time Grand Slam winner revealed after her defeat that she was seeking a post-tennis life. "It takes a lot of work to get here. Clearly I'm still capable. It takes a lot more than that. I'm ready to, like, be a mom, explore a different version of Serena."
"Technically in the world I'm still super young, so I want to have a little bit of a life while I'm still walking."
When questioned about her retirement, she said, "I'm not thinking about that. I always did love Australia, though," hinting at next year's Australian Open.
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