At the 2017 Australian Open, Serena Williams’ continued dominance was not faltering. She beat her sister, Venus Williams, in the singles final to claim her 23rd major title. She would find out shortly after that she was two months pregnant as she lifted the trophy.
Then her life spiraled. She stared death in the eye, and it would be a long journey back. But how could you ever doubt the greatest ever’s ability to make a complete comeback?
After she had her daughter, Olympia, on Sept. 1, 2017, Serena was on bed rest due to complications from childbirth. Fortunately, Olympia was fine, but Serena suffered multiple blood clots on her lungs and, eventually, a hematoma. She returned to tennis five months later, but it would be the beginning of a drought — one her doubters thought marked the end, but one her avid followers knew she would overcome, no matter all the obstacles she would face.
She made her first final since returning shortly after at the 2018 Wimbledon Championships. She lost in straight sets to Angelique Kerber, and she would lose the next three Grand Slam finals she made, too. One of them, the 2018 US Open, which became infamous for Serena’s controversial issues with the chair umpire, was thought to be the end for Serena. She went to therapy to recover and exchanged letters with the winner of that match, Naomi Osaka, and there are (nor were there any in the first place) no hard feelings between the two.
After all that, everyone was on her side again. All she needed was a win.
Serena entered the 2020 ASB Classic in Auckland with no expectations. She started out strong as she had the last four tournaments at which she made the finals. She showed flashes of vintage Serena in her dominant semifinal, dropping just two games against compatriot Amanda Anisimova.
She had to face another compatriot, Jessica Pegula, in the final. Fans and commentators alike were pondering the fact that this time might be different since this isn’t a major. But everyone was afraid to say it.
Pegula broke Serena’s serve immediately to jump to a 2-0 start. In her return, Serena has been known for her slow starts, eventually fighting back but still falling short. Everyone was hoping history wouldn’t repeat itself for a fifth time, but it was starting to look that way.
Then the momentum came in Serena’s direction. She took it and never looked back.
She dropped only one more game in the first set before clinching it 6-3.
After breaking Pegula’s serve at love in the third game of the second set, Serena completely took over. It took seven more games to take the second set 6-4 and the entire championship, but it didn’t matter. She would’ve played another set to relive the exhilaration she felt when that last point ended.
“I’ve been waiting … I’ve been waiting two years for this moment,” she said during her trophy presentation. Yet, with the queen retaining her reign still, nothing’s really changed.
Bre Callahan 