Serena Williams cannot win the U.S. Open because she is not in the U.S. Open. Naturally, that did not stop her from bringing us the biggest story of the tournament.
Because as the third round was underway in Flushing on Friday, Williams gave birth to her first child, a six-pound, 13-ounce baby daughter.
Serena’s sister Venus was moments away from facing Maria Sakkari when the news broke, and she spoke to ESPN (briefly) about her excitement at becoming an aunt.
Venus was not the only one very, very excited about Serena giving birth.
OUR QUEEN SERENA IS GONNA HAVE THIS BABY DURING THE US OPEN AND MAKE YALL REMEMBER HOW IRRELEVANT TENNIS IS WITHOUT HER AND HER FAMILY.
— Clinton Yates (@clintonyates) September 1, 2017
The world is really about to be blessed with a human baby made from Serena Williams' genes. Omg. pic.twitter.com/fqfyRy0ZjQ
— janie jimplin (@landyklk) September 1, 2017
https://twitter.com/realfacade1/status/903672565922705410
There’s definitely some symbolism in the fact that Serena managed to be the talk of the U.S. Open without actually being there. No matter how many talented players make noise in the world of women’s tennis, Serena is forever the sport’s queen.
Now, we should probably let Serena and her fiancé, Reddit founder Alexis Ohanian, enjoy their new daughter for a little while before we start thinking about tennis. On the other hand, here’s what ESPN had to say about the 23-time Grand Slam champion’s return to the court:
Her coach, Patrick Mouratoglou, said in an interview recently that the plan, barring any complications, is for Williams to start training in November.
“The goal is to be ready for the Australian Open and then we’ll see,” Mouratoglou said of Williams’ desire to defend her title. “If she’s ready, she’ll compete. If not, we’ll delay the comeback. I don’t think she should compete if she’s not really ready.”
The Australian Open begins Jan. 15. If it seems crazy that Serena would be ready to return to tennis four and a half months after giving birth… well, you probably shouldn’t doubt her.