Venus Williams Needs to Retire from Tennis
The Australian Open gets underway on Jan. 15, and Venus Williams will be missing out after picking up an injury while playing in a warm-up tournament in Auckland, New Zealand, this past week. With yet another injury, it is time for the former world No. 1 to retire from the sport.
The older Williams sister has had major injuries throughout her career and the latest should be enough for her to stop playing. Williams is now 42 years old and has not been anywhere near the level of play that brought her to stardom.
Before playing in the 2022 US Open, Williams had missed four straight majors. At the 2022 US Open, she lost in the first round in straight sets, which has become a theme in the later part of her career.
Injuries aside, her performance on the court in the last few years is also worth retiring for. Since making the 2017 US Open semifinal, Williams has not advanced past the third round. Her last major finals appearance in singles came at Wimbledon in 2017 when she lost to Garbiñe Muguruza, 7-5, 6-0.
Williams peaked from 2000-03 when she won four major titles while making another five finals appearances. Her last Grand Slam title came in 2008 when she won Wimbledon for a fifth time by beating her sister, Serena, 7-5, 6-4.
Since winning that family rivalry, the only titles that Venus has won have been in doubles alongside her sister. The sisters won seven doubles titles between 2009 and 2016 including three of four major titles in 2009. Their final title as partners came at Wimbledon in 2016.
However, Venus was going to represent the Williams family at the Australian Open following Serena’s retirement from tennis following the 2022 US Open. Unfortunately, she is not going to play now, but neither are a few other big-name players.
The No. 1 men’s player in the world Carlos Alcaraz is missing out on the Australian Open after suffering a leg injury, while the No. 1 ranked women’s player, Iga Swiatek, is questionable with a shoulder injury.
If she cannot play in the French Open, then it is definitely time for Williams to hang up the racquet. Some athletes can still compete into their 40s like Tom Brady (45) and Zlatan Ibrahimović (41), but Venus Williams is not one of those.
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