At the Arthur Ashe Stadium in Queens, New York, Serena Williams is on yet another run to her potential 24th Grand Slam title.
Williams is currently battling for her 7th US Open win. Williams missed last year’s US Open in order to give birth to her daughter, Olympia, who turned one year old this past weekend.
The 36-year-old tennis legend stunned the world in January 2017 when she revealed that she competed and dominated the Australian Open while she was two months pregnant.
Her poise and physical prowess have marked her as one of the greatest athletes of all time. Williams’ endurance both during and after her pregnancy has created a ripple effect throughout the world of powerful female athletes.
Williams recently told the NY Daily News:
“I think society puts it out there that you’ll just kind of snap back (from childbirth) and that’s just a myth… But in the real world, it takes a while for your body to come back… like mentally and physically and dealing emotionally with providing for another child, it’s a lot that goes into it.”
Last week, Williams was criticized by Bernard Giudicelli, the President of the French Tennis Federation. Giudicelli targeted Williams’ famous Black-Panther-esque catsuit from the French Open in June. The outfit reportedly helped to prevent blood clots which have resulted from Williams’ pregnancy complications.
Nike responded to the controversy by tweeting a photo of Serena in her catsuit.
You can take the superhero out of her costume, but you can never take away her superpowers. #justdoit pic.twitter.com/dDB6D9nzaD
— Nike (@Nike) August 25, 2018
Serena began the tournament by beating Poland’s Magda Linette (6-4, 6-0) and Germany’s Carina Witthöft (6-2, 6-2). She then faced her older sister, Venus Williams which she won (6-1, 6-2). Serena’s won her last Grand Slam against Venus during the 2017 Australian Open.
On Sunday, Williams defeated Estonia’s No. 44 ranked Kaia Kanepi (6-0, 4-6, 6-3) who was coming in hot after her stunning upset over No. 1 ranked Simona Halep.
Kanepi was the first player to beat Williams in a set during this tournament. Williams had an amazing 18 aces and let out a so-called “Serena scream” during the match.
Williams commented on both her intense career and her time at the tournament so far, stating:
“This is my job and this is what I do. This is how I earn a living. I’m going to do it the best I can… Winning a big game and a very important game and a really tight game, I think it was just a relief.”
Williams’ fellow American, Sloane Stephens, is competing for the US Open title. Stephens is the defending champion, and she won her first Grand Slam at Arthur Ashe last year.
Williams will play against No. 3 ranked Stephens in the semi-final round, if both players win their next games.
On Tuesday, Serena will face the Czech Republic’s Karolína Plíšková, who is ranked 8th in the tournament. Williams and Plíšková last played against each other during the US Open in 2016, when the Czech tennis star beat Williams (6-2, 7-6). The two players will face off in the quarter-final rounds at 7:00 p.m. EST on Tuesday.
Featured Image via Wikimedia Commons