Venus Williams fell to qualifier Greet Minnen of Belgium 6-1, 6-1 at Arthur Ashe Stadium on Tuesday night time. It was probably the most lopsided loss by the 43-year-old in her 24 appearances on the US Open. She was a shell of her former self. And, after all, afterward a lot of the discuss centered on whether or not she ought to retire from the game, however there are some things to take into account.
Williams has earned the appropriate to retire on her phrases so there must be no subject with whether or not she continues to play or not. Retirement is a private choice and now we have seen examples through the years the place one dimension doesn’t match all. Bjorn Borg primarily retired on the age of 26 whereas Roger Federer was 41 years outdated. Ash Barty retired on the peak of her profession on the age of 25 whereas Feliciano Lopez continues to be grinding it out at nearly 42 years of age. The purpose is that it’s as much as every particular person participant.
AP Picture/Jason DeCrow
Nonetheless, one issue that also needs to be thought-about is that for every wild card entry a participant with the rating of Venus receives to enter a slam, there may be typically one spot taken away from a participant who may typically use a lift to get their profession jump-started. At what level does this selection dissipate? Would Williams keep within the recreation if she needed to undergo qualifiers, or play ITF occasions?
Nonetheless, it’s a little unfair to make use of her first-round efficiency as proof that she ought to now not compete. Williams was compelled to withdraw from Cleveland earlier than the US Open as a consequence of an harm that was clearly hampering her motion on the court docket in opposition to Minnen. A greater barometer to evaluate whether or not a participant ought to name it a profession is once they can now not compete when they’re at the very best stage of well being their physique will give them at their age. It’s well-documented that Federer caught round, rehabbed, and went via surgical procedures, simply to have an opportunity to compete at the very best stage his post-prime physique would enable. He lastly concluded that he may now not do it.
In my interplay with former skilled gamers, one widespread theme has all the time surfaced in a single regard or one other in terms of retirement. And that’s, when the blood, sweat, and tears they put in outweigh the enjoyment they obtain from enjoying, it’s time to let it go. Clearly, Venus nonetheless enjoys enjoying the game, and kudos to her as many gamers are burned out from skilled sports activities lengthy earlier than her age.
As for her future, Venus playfully addressed it with the media, “I would not let you know, so… I do not know. I do not know why you are asking (smiling).”