It was a great story, minus the storybook ending.
Venus Williams is 37 years old. She has been living for the past six years with Sjogren’s syndrome, a brutal autoimmune disease that drains her energy and causes debilitating joint pain. More recently, she also has been the focal point of a police investigation into a fatal car crash in Florida. Only after she broke down while discussing the tragedy at a press conference in Wimbledon two weeks ago, did the police finally release a video that showed she had done nothing illegal.
Yet, despite this incredible stress, there she was standing on the precipice of history Saturday as she attempted to become the oldest female player of the Open Era to win a Grand Slam event.
It was not to be. After beating six younger women to get to her first finals since 2009, Williams did not have the staying power to get past the seventh, losing to 23-year-old Garbine Muguruza, 7-5, 6-0.
The ending was shockingly abrupt for fans who have been following the career of Williams and her sister, Serena, for more than two decades. Again and again, we’ve watched the Williams sisters deal with the twin-headed monster of racism and sexism. We’ve watched them be the targets of body-shaming and most recently be sucked into a firestorm when tennis great John McEnroe told NPR that Serena would be ranked 700 if she played in the men’s game.
If the Williams sisters can beat all that, was it really too much to expect a 37-year-old Venus to be able to beat a player who was one years old when she turned pro?
A victory would have meant a great deal to Venus. This was her 20th Wimbledon. She last won a singles title at Wimbledon in 2008, three years later she announced that she had been diagnosed with Sjogrens. Many thought the condition would end her career. She cut back on her training. She changed to a plant-based diet. For four years, from 2011-2014, she failed to advance past the fourth round in singles in any Grand Slam tournament.
Her resurgence started a year ago at Wimbledon when she made it to the semifinals. Then, at the Australian Open in January, Williams reached the finals where she lost to her sister, who was pregnant. Williams was steamrolling through the tournament before losing to Muguruza on Saturday. Coming into the finals, Williams had lost only one set, and she looked strong early in the final.
She was twice a point away from winning the opening set, ahead, 5-4, while Muguruza served at 15-40. Muguruza’s first save was a 19-stroke rally that ended when Williams netted a forehand. She then broke set in the next game on another long rally that ended in a forehand error.
Williams would not win another game and the match ended in the most anticlimactic of manners when Williams hit a shot that landed long, but was ruled in. Muguruza challenged the call, and after a delay, the review showed the ball was out. Muguruza, who grew up watching Venus play in Wimbledon, dropped to her knees on the court to celebrate.
Williams dealt with the loss with the same incredible grace she has used to deal with most of her other challenges. The Williams have always written their own story instead of adhered to other’s preconceived plotlines. It was clear that Venus wanted to add a special chapter for the family Saturday while Serena, who is eight months pregnant, was sitting out the tournament.
When asked after the match if she had a message for Serena, Venus replied: “I miss you. I tried my best to do the same things you do, but I think there will be other opportunities. I do.”
Maybe we will still get the storybook ending.
