Resignation announced Serena Williams Hats off

Resignation announced: Serena Williams: “Hats off!”

MONTREAL | The announcement of tennis great Serena Williams’ impending retirement did not go unnoticed by spectators present at IGA Stadium on Tuesday to watch the men’s matches of the National Bank Open.

• Also read: Serena Williams is retiring soon

All respondents therefore spoke of the stamina and strength of the 41-year-old American, who should retire after the next United States Open, as she said in an interview with Vogue magazine. According to many, the exploits of the winner of 23 Grand Slam tournaments will not be equaled.

“She’s had a great career and she’ll be hard to beat. She was the first to bring “power tennis” to women thanks to her tenacity and strength, said Montreal native Daniel Rouillard, who has played at the Montreal tournament since 1993. Maybe one day there will be another like her, but I don’t see any right now. The only one I’ve seen with such a nice “package” was [Ashleigh] Barty, except she’s retired. It would be possible [Iga] Swiatek, but I don’t know.”

“She’s the best of all time with her many wins at the US Open. She’s solid everywhere, the mental strength is there. So the step will be extremely high,” added Luc Turcotte from Ottawa, who has already had the opportunity to watch a Williams game live.

Rare presences

Because one must not forget that the mighty player was rare on Montreal soil. Serena will have played her last tournament in the city in the summer of 2014 when her older sister Venus defeated her in the semifinals. Nonetheless, amateurs understand that sometimes the unexpected can change plans.

“It’s always nice to see players of her caliber, but there were the injuries. She remains a very good athlete, very powerful with an explosive serve, ”lauded Laurence Morissette and Julie Lévesque, mentioning in passing the confrontations between Williams and the Russian Maria Sharapova, defeated 20 times in 22 duels by the American.

“His career has been extraordinary. She’s over 40, hats off! She wanted to win, consistently and rigorously, and still does today. She just won her match [lundi à Toronto]added Danielle Picard from Montreal, who certainly would have liked to see Williams here more often.

– After defeating the Spaniard Nuria Párrizas Díaz in her first match in Queen City, the former world No. 1 at rank 407 was waiting for the winner of the duel between the Swiss Belinda Bencic and the Czech Tereza Martincova.