The Queen of Queens returned to her throne on Saturday, as 23-time Grand Slam singles champion Serena Williams returned to the US Open.
And she arrived in style, bringing back an old look: a denim skirt similar to the one she wore while competing in New York in 2004, when she lost to Jennifer Capriati in a controversial quarter-final duel.
That match, which was plagued by poor officiating, was later cited when electronic officiating was introduced into Grand Slam tennis.
Saturday was Williams’ first visit to the US Open since 2022, when she played her final tournament there. She reached the third round before losing to Ajla Tomljanovic in her final match, though Williams was careful not to call her retirement, instead describing it as an “evolution” away from professional tennis.
She’s been busy since then, pursuing her business interests, signing a book deal, launching a documentary series currently airing on ESPN and hosting the ESPYS in July. Williams gave birth to her second daughter a year ago.
Serena Williams (C) watches the match between Jannik Sinner and Christopher O’Connell
Serena Williams, left, watches the match between Tommy Paul and Gabriel Dialo
The 42-year-old American has won six US Open singles titles (tied with Chris Evert for the most) during her decades of dominance with a racquet in her hands. This time, Williams was sitting in a suite at Arthur Ashe Stadium as No. 1-ranked Jannik Sinner cruised to a straight-sets third-round victory over Chris O’Connell.
Williams walked the grounds, watched American Tommy Paul’s victory at Louis Armstrong Stadium and at one point stopped by the players’ gym to chat with current world number one Iga Swiatek, who was scheduled to play on Saturday night.
One of Williams’ good friends, 2018 Australian Open champion and former No. 1 Caroline Wozniacki, joked after winning Saturday to reach the fourth round that she was disappointed not to see Williams in the grandstand spectator seats.
“I’m going to text her,” Wozniacki said with a laugh. “I’m really mad at her for not coming to my game. … I think we need to talk about that a little bit later.”
Williams on Saturday wore a skirt similar to the one she wore during her 2004 loss to Capriati.
Williams attends day six of the 2024 US Open at the USTA Billie Jean King National Tennis Center
Williams is seen in the stands applying some lip gloss during third-round action.
Despite Williams’ absence from the sport, tennis is having a moment, starting with Zendaya’s new film, Challengers, and her use of the sport as a backdrop for her three-way love story.
Roland Garros serves as the setting for Season 4, Episode 1 of ‘Emily in Paris,’ there’s a recently released docuseries on Williams and Roger Federer and an upcoming show on Carlos Alcaraz, not to mention Williams’ role as Host of the ESPY Awardsand the roles played by Coco GauffRafael Nadal, Amelie Mauresmo and Williams at the Opening ceremony of the Paris Olympic Games.
“Tennis is so ingrained in the culture and zeitgeist of today, and it’s great to see that,” said Jill Smoller, Williams’ longtime agent. “With all the movies and television, the continued fusion of sports and fashion, in almost every industry you see some athlete, somewhere, represented.”
The sport is emerging from a golden era on the court, with Williams claiming a women’s record 23 Grand Slam singles titles before Moving away in 2022Novak Djokovic is 24 and still going strong, Nadal is 22 and Federer, who announced his retirement two years ago, is 20.
Now there is a new group of young stars. There is the number one woman in the ranking, Iga Swiatekwho at 23 years old already has five major championships. Alcaraz She has four, including the last two at the French Open and Wimbledon, and is 21 years old. Gauff, whose first Grand Slam trophy He arrived at Flushing Meadows a year ago, he is 20 years old.