US Open women's preview: Serena Williams prepares to bring down the curtain with new era already underway

At Wimbledon, the storyline and main focus were on Serena Williams' return after a year from injury . It didn’t go as well as she would have hoped - losing in the first round to Harmony Tan . Fast forward to the US Open and the attention is still on Serena but for entirely different reasons. The 23-time Grand Slam champion announced she is "evolving" into a new chapter in her life , speaking for retiring from tennis. She’s calling time after a glittering 27-year professional career wherein she became one of the greatest players of all time. “There comes a time in life when we have to decide to move in a different direction,” Williams wrote in a piece in Vogue. “That time is always hard when you love something so much.” The announcement sets the stage for what will be an emotional farewell for Williams, who faces World No 80 Danka Kovinic in Monday’s first round at the Arthur Ashe Stadium. Williams won the first of her 23 Grand Slam singles titles as a 17-year-old at the 1999 US Open. She comes into the 2022 edition having added five more titles at Flushing Meadows to her list. Along the way came seven Australian Open titles and seven Wimbledon titles.

Pics from Serena Williams' first practice session earlier today 💪🏾🎾 #USOpen

📸: US Open IG pic.twitter.com/hv9BLzRKKN

— Luis. (@serenapower_) August 23, 2022

A record-equalling 24th Grand Slam singles title is likely to remain beyond her next week but her legacy and records will remain tough to beat. For fans, the ticket to her final match - whenever that may be - is going to be a great memorabilia. But for the player herself, clinching the 24th Grand Slam title is a “fan fantasy.” “I get that,” she said. “It’s a good fantasy. But I’m not looking for some ceremonial, final on-court moment. I’m terrible at goodbyes, the world’s worst.” Williams’ recent results indicate the pessimism is well-founded. In her first match since announcing her retirement, she lost in straight sets to Belinda Bencic in Toronto. And in her next, she was trounced by reigning US Open champion Emma Raducanu - suffering a bagel in the process.

Serena Saturday morning practice ☀ #SerenaWilliams #USOpen pic.twitter.com/B4ZqwdFU63

— Chad (@CCSMOOTH13) August 27, 2022

More from Tennis

How long will Djokovic continue playing? Tennis icon drops big statement: 'US Open sounded bit like a goodbye' 'Where the hell are the rest?': Boris Becker blasts rivals for failing to challenge Alcaraz and Sinner

With Williams not expected to mount a realistic challenge, all eyes will be on World No 1 Iga Swiatek in the women’s draw. Swiatek isn’t the same player from the first half of the season. Her winning run of jaw-dropping 37 matches was snapped at Wimbledon by Alize Cornet and it has been jittery tennis from the Pole - as it was that day on the grass. After the All England Club third-round loss, Swiatek lost in the quarters of Poland Open (to Caroline Garcia), was sloppy in the Round of 16 defeat to Beatriz Haddad Maia in Toronto, and was convincingly swept aside by Madison Keys in Cincinnati. In the second set, it appeared she, queen of bagels and breadsticks, was going to lose 0-6 herself. Swiatek has complained about the lighter tennis balls in use for women at the US Open. The light weight of the balls means they’re harder to control and maybe worse, since they’re sparsely used, one can’t find them outside the United States.

.@iga_swiatek practices in New York on Saturday pic.twitter.com/3R5yEHMEGs

— Jimmie48 Photography (@JJlovesTennis) August 28, 2022

“After a few games, really, the conditions are totally changing, because they get more and more light. They’re losing fluffiness,” the two-time French Open champion and US Open’s top seed said. “It’s hard to sometimes adjust.” The draw isn’t particularly nice either. She starts against a speedy opponent in Jasmine Paolini and could play hard hitter Sloane Stephens in the second round. If she’s able to circumvent these challenges, there are more big-hitters in Amanda Anisimova, Qinwen Zheng, Jelena Ostapenko, Garbiñe Muguruza, and Petra Kvitova in her section of the draw. The frustration with different tennis balls for women from men is not new. But it is far too late to make an impact. Going by recent form and conditions, one can safely say Swiatek is a favourite but not the favourite for the US Open.

hello again @usopen 🙇🏻‍♀️😜 pic.twitter.com/AqI80oWBg0

— Emma Raducanu (@EmmaRaducanu) August 27, 2022

But then who is? For years, the phrase, “the field is wide open,” and “it is an open draw” have been used for women’s tennis. And it hasn’t been so true up until last year when Raducanu, outside the top 100 in the world, came through qualifying to lift the title. Not to forget the runner-up Leylah Fernandez. She beat Kaia Kanepi, Naomi Osaka, Angelique Kerber, Elina Svitolina, and Aryna Sabalenka in what was a sensational run. But neither look likely to repeat that feat. Raducanu was in tears and had to stop her practice session twice while having her wrist taped. She downplayed the extent of the injury but form is not on her side either - despite beating Serena and Victoria Azarenka consecutively in Cincy and dropping just six games in the process. If/when she loses and drops her points from last year’s US Open win, we will get a more realistic picture of her ranking. For her, it may well be a blessing in disguise to manage expectations and be able to lose the pressure.

Naomi Osaka on the practice courts this morning! 💕🗽 pic.twitter.com/IE6W7nS5tD

— Kat (@idontmindk) August 25, 2022

Swiatek, Anett Kontaveit, Maria Sakkari, Paula Badosa, and Ons Jabeur make up the top-five seeds. Just like Swiatek, none of the four inspire confidence that they can take the trophy home for their first major win. Kontaveit’s seeding is misleading in what has been a tough year for her after contracting the virus. She is 2-3 in majors this year. Sakkari is someone who goes deep into a tournament but doesn’t bag the title. It comes as a surprise that she’s won just one title in her career. Run up to the US Open hasn’t been great either. First round loss in San Jose, Cincinnati and second round of Toronto. Badosa is still young in her major career trajectory. At 24, she’s played just 12 majors. In terms of form, just when it looked like she had recovered from her slump in the spring and beat Coco Gauff in Stanford, came the retirement in Toronto and first-round defeat in Cincy. Jabeur is a breath of fresh air. It is hard not to root for the Tunisian whether it is for her tennis, her humour, her personality, or the desire to be a game-changer off the court. She came within a set of clinching Wimbledon. The Tunisian comes with a 2-5 win-loss in the tune-up events. This brings us to the Wimbledon champion herself - Elena Rybakina. With no points coming for lifting the historic trophy, the Kazakh player can't reap the benefits of getting a bump in the rankings and an easier draw that could come with it. Instead, she is seeded 25th and finds herself in the same quarter as Badosa, Sabalenka, Raducanu, and Danielle Collins. Other names that can make a mark but have issues to iron out are Gauff, Simona Halep, Jessica Pegula, and Naomi Osaka. So, for the women’s title, there are a dozen or so contenders and it is difficult to find a favourite. However, for the first week or a few days, at least, the fan favourite will be Serena. Read all the Latest News , Trending News ,  Cricket News , Bollywood News ,  India News and Entertainment News here. Follow us on Facebook, Twitter and Instagram.