Agency :
Serena Williams kicks-off what is likely to be the last event of her farewell tour on Monday at the US Open where she is set to headline opening night in a first-round clash with Montenegro’s Danka Kovinic.
Williams, who three weeks ago announced her forthcoming retirement from tennis, is set to play the 7 pm ET (2300 GMT) match in front of more than 23,000 hollering fans on Arthur Ashe Stadium, where she has won six of her 23 Grand Slam titles.
While far from the form she enjoyed at the height of her illustrious career, the 40-year-old Williams will look to overwhelm Kovinic in their first career match-up with her trademark mix of powerful serves and groundstrokes.
For Williams, who missed last year’s US Open with a leg injury and only returned to singles action at Wimbledon in June, emotions will be running high at the final Grand Slam of 2022.
“I definitely will be very emotional,” Williams, who is also playing in the doubles competition with older sister Venus, said on the debut episode of Meghan Markle’s ‘Archetypes’ podcast that was released last week. “How am I not gonna cry?
“Maybe if I hopefully can get through a couple of matches, then maybe I’ll feel better but I think initially it’s going to be hard because every time I step out there, it’s literally my last time.”
While facing Williams in the first round of a Grand Slam may once have been one of the more daunting tasks in tennis, Kovinic may like her chances given the recent form of her opponent.
