Serena Williams, the grande dame of tennis, returns to her job at the highest level in Paris this coming week, as a 36-year-old mother with as much to prove as when she came from 5-3 down in the third set against Kim Clijsters en route to winning the first of her 23 majors, 19 years ago at Flushing Meadows.
Among the American’s many admirers and rivals in the game Johanna Konta is in awe of her, for returning to the court after being away for most of the past 18 months, and her decision to defy convention. She knows, too, how dangerous Williams can be when cornered: as when Heather Watson had her on the ropes at Wimbledon in 2015 but could not land the knockout blow; or at Roland Garros a month earlier when, so sick she could barely walk to the service line, she won the deciding set to love against Timea Bacsinszky to reach the final. Williams, Konta understands, is a born fighter.
Konta, whose campaign begins on Sunday against the world No 93, Yulia Putintseva, is eloquent in her praise and analysis. “I don’t know [what it must feel like for Williams] because I haven’t given birth,” she says. “I’m not a mother and I haven’t been off Tour for that length of time. I wouldn’t want to have a child and come back. I’d like to have my tennis career and then have a family. That’s just a personal preference. That’s a choice every woman has the choice to make.
“It’s a tough call. There’s a lot of women on Tour who are at the age where society thinks they should be thinking of motherhood or wanting to have children. There’s a lot of expectation on women in their 30s of: ‘Why haven’t you had a child yet? Can you have children?’
“It’s a woman’s prerogative of when and if they want to have children, and what profession they choose and how long they choose to do it. In sport it’s a little bit different because of the physical side.
“But it’s a tremendous achievement to be able to bring your body back to being fighting fit in that way. Seeing women like Jessica Ennis-Hill and Paula Radcliffe and what they have achieved and the way they have been able to work their way back to the elite level of their sport after having children – I think it’s incredible. I want to see a man do it!”
Konta does not think she will be playing tennis at Serena’s age, adding, “But again, who knows?”
Williams, who celebrated the birth of her first child by lending her name to a series of insightful TV documentaries on her new life as a mid-30s mother and athlete, has accidentally inspired a debate that rumbled into Paris on the eve of her return to the big time: should her reputation entitle her to a seeding after she has been away from the game for so long (apart from four matches this year)? The tournament officials looked to their rules and history, said “No” and the furore intensified.
Konta revealed the WTA players’ council, on which she sits, has discussed the issue. Unlike Maria Sharapova, no great friend of the American but who supports her on this one, Konta is undecided.
She sees merit in respecting Williams’s stature and achievements, as well as the rights of others who have worked hard to be seeded. Yet, stripped back, the argument has flaws. If seedings are meant to reflect the likelihood of a player winning the tournament, only a fool would say Williams is not worth a place in the top 10, at least – despite her lack of activity.
A more reliable guide follows the money – and the American betting expert, Sean Calvert, who correctly picked a 100-1 shot, John Isner, to win the Miami Open this year (where Williams lost in the first round to Naomi Osaka), has Williams at 10-1, which seems about right. In front of her, in his estimation, are the world No 1, Simona Halep, an 11-2 favourite, Elina Svitolina (8-1) and Garbiñe Muguruza (9-1).
Yet, because of their adherence to custom, the official seedings do not rate Williams, arguably the greatest player of all time, among the best 32 players in the draw. First up she plays Kristyna Pliskova, the world No 70. Greater danger lurks in the second round, where the 17th seed, Ashleigh Barty, is a likely opponent. Beyond that lie either Sharapova or Pliskova’s sixth-seeded sister, Karolina. And that could be where the discussion is put to bed.
For Konta there are a lot more positives than negatives in Williams returning. “It’s exciting. It shows incredible strength as a woman,” she says. “Also, breaking down boundaries, in a way it’s showing the world that there aren’t those self-imposed limitations that a lot of people see. And it’s important to give her the respect of finding the level that she wants to play at – however long and however many matches that takes.
“I know that she feels she’s back, because she can perform at the level that she wants to play at and she’s prepared to be in those positions and playing the big matches. That’s the confidence that every player has on court, that everyone who plays on the Tour has.
“Otherwise we wouldn’t be playing. I personally don’t expect anything of her. I expect her to enjoy what she is doing.”
That alone would be a victory.
