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Serena Williams Facing a New Reality After Falling Short at Another Grand Slam
- Updated: June 4, 2016
This is the hard truth: Serena Williams is not the dominant force in women’s tennis anymore. She’s the best player, but she isn’t dominant.
You saw it Saturday in the French Open final—the last point. That’s when you saw Williams’ hopelessness and a little panic. She had a lob go over her head and turned to start running back to get it. Serena of five years ago could have run down that ball—would have run down that ball—and kept it in play.
Serena stopped running Saturday and stared at the line, hoping it would go out.
It stayed in. And Williams gave the nervous shrug of someone who isn’t used to being out of control on a tennis court. Garbine Muguruza beat Williams 7-5, 6-4 at Roland Garros to win the 2016 French Open.
This was a day for hard truths for Williams. It is her new reality. She lost in the U.S. Open semifinal to a journeywoman, Roberta Vinci, with no particular weapon other than an ability to keep running all over the place and keep the ball in play. She lost the Australian Open final to Angelique Kerber, a career choker, because she could not move her feet fast anymore.
But on Saturday, it was something new, something that’s hard to believe would ever happen. On Saturday, she was overpowered. Muguruza, a 6’0″ 22-year-old, challenged Serena punch for punch, power for power. You would think it was about the dumbest strategy anyone could try against Williams.
But Williams in her new reality can be overpowered.
To be clear, you have to be a tennis fan to have heard of Muguruza. But just in case: She is already the second-best player in the world, regardless of the rankings. She reached the Wimbledon final last year, where she lost to Williams, and she will win more …
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